Nine Years Later
by buzzlightyearr
Summary: Arnold Shortman left for San Lorenzo the summer before fifth grade. This story states what happens nine years later. Harold's marriage isn't quite what it seems. Gerald and Phoebe are still together. Helga has seemingly gotten over her crush on Arnold and has set her sights on someone new. How will Hillwood's dynamic change when Arnold is back in town? COMPLETE
1. Nine Years Later

Nine Years Later

"Please, I don't understand why you won't just spend this one night here. Didn't you have a great time tonight?" Rhonda asked, rolling onto her side, flipping her long, messy black hair over her shoulder.

"Rhonda, you know I would love to spend the night, but you know that I can't do that." Harold responded as he picked his brown khaki pants up from the floor and began to get redressed.

Rhonda climbed out of bed and quickly put on a short silk nightgown. She quickly grabbed Harold's white button down and red tie and shoved his items into his arms.

"Rhonda, please don't do this now." Harold pleaded.

"You know, sometimes I don't even know why I give you the time of day. Honestly, it should be me who is hiding you. I-"

"Rhonda stop." Harold interrupted her rant and pulled her into his arms. She buried her face into his chest instinctively. He pulled her head up by the chin, pushed her blunt bangs out of her face and looked into her hazel eyes. "I'm really sorry that things have to be like this, but we'll find a way to work things out okay?"

Rhonda nodded her head softly and kissed Harold on the lips.

"Promise me you'll stop by tomorrow?" Rhonda asked as Harold was halfway down the steps of her townhouse.

"We'll see." Harold responded.

Harold started walking southbound to the subway station. He felt his cellphone vibrating in his pocket. He pulled out his cellphone and saw that he already had 3 missed phone calls, and was currently working on a fourth.

"Hello?" Harold spoke into the phone.

"Hey honey, how did your meeting go?"

"Well, we're still working out the small monetary details but my lawyer is drawing up the paperwork for me to become the official owner of Mr. Green's meats." Harold responded.

"Oh my gosh babe that's so amazing! Not a moment too soon either because the doctor said we are officially considered full-term now and we can go into labor at any minute now. So I'm going to need to be able to reach you when that does happen."

"Wow, we're going to be welcoming a baby Berman any day now! It's time to narrow down these names. Calling our child 'Baby Berman' isn't going to work past the age of 2." Harold laughed.

"Well, actually a baby Smith-Berman _and_ I have a strong feeling that we're going to be welcoming a baby girl."

"Well, Patty, I'm about to go below ground and you know I lose reception in the tunnel. So I love you, and I'll see you when I get home."

"I can't wait to see you! Be safe and call me as soon as you're above ground again!" Patty spoke into the phone, as she rubbed her pregnant stomach and placed her cellphone next to her.

* * *

"Phoebe, you know that I'm not good at these things. Please help me!" Helga pleaded with her best friend, cellphone in one hand, and multiple outfit options in the other.

"Well, Helga, we need to think about these things logically. Where does Stinky plan on taking you tonight?" Phoebe inquired.

"I don't know Phoebe. I don't ask Stink-o everything. I just want to look amazing. I want him to take one look at me and his knees become weak, then his lips begin to tremble as he pulls me close to whisper the words that he has been longing for so long to say but couldn't find the courage to say for so long." Helga said as she twirled around her room and threw herself onto the bed with a sigh. "But, I won't be able to do that if I can't find the right outfit."

"Helga, I think that the chances of your outfit having any effect on how much he loves you are zero." Phoebe responded.

"Okay, okay, okay—you've made your point Pheebs. I'm going to try on this one outfit that I've been saving for a while and you let me know what you think." Helga said grabbing some clothes from her closet and heading into the bathroom.

Phoebe's phone vibrated, notifying her of a text message from Gerald. "Can't wait to see you tonight baby."

Although she was in the room alone, she blushed as she quickly typed a response to her boyfriend's message.

"Okay, what do you think Pheebs? Be honest!" Helga asked as she stepped out of the bathroom. Her long blonde hair was pulled into a messy, yet chic top bun. She wore a white, lace peplum tank top, pink skinnies and a pair of simple black heels. Her makeup was very soft and accentuated her long eyelashes, bright blue eyes and full pink lips. Topping off her outfit was a simple gold heart shaped locket.

"Helga, you look amazing. However-" Phoebe started to speak.

"What's wrong?" Helga questioned with an eye roll."

"It's just do you think that you should be wearing that locket? I mean, being as it's such an important night." Phoebe asked.

"It's just a necklace." Helga responded shortly. Phoebe raised an eyebrow over the frame of her rectangular green glasses.

"If you say so Helga. I'm going to head out, I'm supposed to be meeting Gerald in an hour and a half. Call me the second that you get home from your date!" Phoebe smiled before letting herself out of Helga's bedroom.

Helga threw herself onto the chaise that rested next to her window, rubbing her fingers across the locket as she stared wistfully into the distance.

* * *

Phoebe hopped into her blue Prius and frantically headed home. Her father was in Michigan for a business meeting and her mother went along with him to keep him company, so she had the entire townhouse to herself and she was eager to spend some alone time with Gerald.

When she arrived home she drew herself a hot bubble bath and poured herself a glass of Chardonnay from her parent's collection which she knew would go unnoticed. Her phone sat on the edge of the bathtub, which she grabbed to take a photograph of herself to send to Gerald with the accompanying message "There's room for two, come join me."

Phoebe chuckled to herself as she put her phone onto her favorite Pandora station before setting it to the side, taking her glasses off, and allowing herself to succumb to a state of pure relaxation and excitement.

Gerald arrived in less than fifteen minutes after the text was sent, with a box of French chocolates and a dozen white roses.

"I thought you'd never get here." Phoebe stated climbing out of the bathtub, exposing her entire 5'0" petite frame to Gerald.

"I uh—rushed over. How do you manage to do that?" Gerald questioned randomly.

"Do what?" Phoebe asked, confused.

"How do you still manage to take my breath away after all of this time?" Gerald asked before leaning in for a passionate kiss, grabbing Phoebe, picking her up, and carrying her into her bedroom.

* * *

Stinky stepped out of his forest green pickup truck and walked up the steep steps to Helga's brownstone townhouse. He knocked on the door and adjusted his red tie while he waited for an answer.

"Hey Peterson, you can come on in." Bob Pataki said after opening the door, gesturing for Stinky to enter his home.

"Good evening Mr. Pataki." Stinky greeted.

"Hey, hey, hey what did I tell you about that? It's Bob, we're all friends here as long as you keep my little girl happy. She's still upstairs, you know how women are!" Bob commented walking into the den and taking a seat in his favorite reclining chair. "Have a seat, take a load off!"

Stinky sat at the corner of the couch.

"You watch the wheel?" Bob asked

"Um—no sir." Stinky responded.

"Hmmm, well maybe you should start." Bob commented as Stinky chuckled nervously.

"Miriam!" Bob shouted at the edge of his seat, "The wheel is about to start, why don't you bring me and my friend Stinky here a couple of Yahoos!?"

Stinky heard the sound of footsteps running down the stairs. Helga turned the corner and entered the den area, she caught a glimpse of Stinky awkwardly sitting on her couch as her dad talked about his favorite television game show, Wheel of Fortune. He quickly rose to his feet when he saw Helga.

"My Helga, you look absolutely amazing!" Stinky said, walking over to Helga to give her a kiss. Helga blushed slightly.

"Aww, put a sock in it Stink-o, you ready to head out?" Helga said with a smile.

"So how long are you kids planning to stay out tonight? Where are you two going anyway?" Bob questioned.

"We're-" Stinky began.

"Dad, we're not kids anymore. I'm eighteen years old, you don't have to question where I am going all the time. I swear, I had more freedom as a ten year old than I do now." Helga sighed.

"I'm sorry, I don't mean to pry. I just want to make sure that my little girl gets home safely," Bob commented, pulling Helga in for a hug and kissing her on the forehead. "Just keep your phone on and have a good time."

"Fine Bob." Helga said with an exasperated tone and grabbed Stinky's hand heading for the door.

"I swear, sometimes I think I liked it better when he called me Olga all the time." Helga said awkwardly. Stinky pulled her close and kissed her softly on the lips.

"I hope you're ready for a fun night tonight Ms. Pataki." Stinky smiled, as he held the door of his pickup open for his date.

* * *

 **A/N** : I hope that you enjoy this story. It's my first venture into FanFiction of any sort! Reviews are always welcome and if you use your username, they will also be personally responded to. Thanks & Happy Reading :) - BuzzLightyearr


	2. Return to Hillwood

**Return to Hillwood**

Helga looked across the table and caught the glance of Stinky. His hazel eyes shimmered in the soft candlelight that set the ambiance of the meal that they were about to enjoy. Seeing the gold flecks in his eyes brought a smile to Helga's face.

"Have you been here before?" Stinky asked.

"Not since I was a child—it was a disaster the last time that I was here." Helga responded with a giggle.

"There sounds like there's a story to be told there. Don't leave me hanging Helga" Stinky queried.

"Well, I know this was a while ago but do you remember way back in fourth grade when I won that gift certificate for dinner for four to Chez Pierre?" Helga chuckled.

"Yeah, I reckon that sounds familiar." Stinky responded.

"Well, of course at the time my family life wasn't the healthiest so I wasn't going to invite Olga, Bob and Miriam. Naturally I asked Pheebs, Tall Hair Boy, and Football Head. I really wanted everyone to think that I was very sophisticated and I deserved to be in a place like that. Everything was going smoothly until it was time for the check. The gift certificate was for Chez Pierre and we were at Chez Paris." Helga chortled.

"So what did you do?" Stinky inquired.

"Well, Phoebe thought that we should have been honest with management. Obviously, I disagreed. I exacerbated the problem and ordered more food even though we were so stuffed. I even lied and told the waiter that I was someone important's granddaughter. Called myself Helga Van Buran, can you believe that? Then I called Nadine and asked that she bring me some cockroaches from her collection and let them loose in the restaurant. The waiter ended up figuring out who I was and called the police. The police and Nadine arrived at around the same time and the cockroaches went everywhere. They were going to let us off the hook, but on the walk home Arnold kind of convinced me to go back and tell the truth." Helga divulged.

"Wow, that's some story. What did they say when you came back?" Stinky asked.

"We ended up having to wash dishes to pay off our debts." Helga said, her memories going back to that night. She remembered how fast her heart was racing working in such a close proximity to Arnold. She recalled how Arnold made her feel like she was more sophisticated than she ever gave herself credit for. She thought about how close to flirting they were and finally she thought about how much she still missed him. She grabbed her gold locket and rubbed it between her index and thumb fingers.

"Well, I reckon that I'm always learning new things about you Ms. Pataki." Stinky beamed. Helga dropped the locket and let it fall to her chest.

 _Stop thinking about the past, that was nine years ago._ Helga attempted to tell herself. She looked up at Stinky and felt her heart skip a beat. A feeling that she quite literally hadn't experienced since she was in fourth grade.

"Stinky, I-" Helga's voice quivered. Stinky reached his hand across the table and covered her hand with his, softly rubbing his finger along the side of her hand.

"Helga, there's something that I've been wanting to tell you for quite some time, but I reckon I didn't really know how to say it." Stinky said clearing his throat. "Helga, I love you."

Helga smiled and felt her eyes beginning to water slightly.

"Stinky, I love you too." Helga responded.

"I know that we've been on a few dates now. I was hoping that we could make things official and I wanted to ask if-" Stinky trailed off.

"Yes, Stinky?" Helga questioned.

"I wanted to ask, will you would be my girlfriend?" Stinky mustered up the courage to ask.

"Of course!" Helga exclaimed, she couldn't help but let one lone tear of joy slide down her cheek.

"Well, I reckon that this is the best news that I've heard in a long time!" Stinky beamed.

"Do either of you two care for dessert tonight? We have a wonderful selection, could I interest you two in the crème brulee, pralines, or our specialty tonight which is lemon blancmange." The waiter, Anton, offered in his thick French accent.

"Blancmange? I'm not familiar with that." Helga remarked.

"Mademoiselle, lemon blancmange could be likened to a lemon pudding." Anton informed the young American couple.

"This day keeps getting better and better. I reckon we'll take the lemon pudding, on account of it's my favorite type of pudding." Stinky ordered. Helga shook her head and giggled into the palm of her hand.

"I'll just have the crème brulee thank you." Helga laughed.

* * *

"There's absolutely nothing to watch on Netflix." Gerald commented, lying on Phoebe's bed with a remote pointed towards the television in one hand and Phoebe nestled in his other arm.

"Well, I'm interested in any documentary that you want to pull up. However, I understand that a comedy might be more of what you are looking for and if you want to go that route, I would prefer a romantic comedy to a stoner comedy." Phoebe remarked.

"I miss the simple days of regular television." Gerald said. His iPhone vibrated on the nightstand, it was an unknown number.

"Hello?" Gerald answered.

"Hey, long time no talk!" The voice on the other end of the phone remarked. The sound of the voice caused Gerald to shoot up.

"Who is it?" Phoebe whispered.

"Arnold?" Gerald questioned, "Wow man it's been a while since I've heard from you. I started to think that you had forgotten about us."

"Don't be ridiculous Gerald. I just wanted to call you because I'm back stateside again and I'm actually moving back into Hillwood. I'll be back in the boarding house again, so that's going to take some getting used to." Arnold said nervously into the phone.

"Why didn't you tell me you were coming back?" Gerald asked.

"Well, of course part of the reason is that San Lorenzo isn't exactly known for its technological advances so it's not like I could call you. In fact, this cell phone that I got earlier today is ridiculously complicated so I might need your help figuring this one out man. The other part of me didn't want anyone to know that I'm coming back. It just didn't feel real until I was on that plane and heading back, you of all people know that sometimes your plans to come back from the jungle don't always work out." Arnold responded.

"This is amazing news though. I'm excited to have my best friend back." Gerald remarked, "Does anyone else know that you're here?"

"I almost ran into Rhonda at the drugstore earlier, but I don't think she noticed me." Arnold countered. "Is there anything that I should know about before I start wandering around on my own?"

"Well, I assume you're asking about our old friends." Gerald chuckled. "Harold and Patty are married, they're expecting a baby in a few weeks. I'm sure that you already know about me and Phoebe. Sid and Curly are both working on their—um—issues I guess you could say. Nadine has an amazing Instagram following—I'll have to explain exactly what Instagram is to you in person, her and Vincent are going pretty strong." Gerald revealed.

"Vincent?" Arnold questioned.

"Peapod kid." Gerald responded with a chuckle.

"How about-" Arnold started to question but trailed off, he could feel his heart racing and throat tightening. "How about Helga?"

Gerald looked at Phoebe for advice on what to tell him. Phoebe looked over at him and softly shook her head no.

"I have to." Gerald whispered causing Phoebe to roll her eyes.

"Helga is doing great. She has been very vocal about how therapy has truly helped her family. Her and Stinky are-" Gerald started to speak into the phone, Arnold on the other end could feel his heart clenching. "Helga and Stinky are really good friends."

"Ahhh okay." Arnold responded. "I'm looking forward to seeing her. I'm looking forward to seeing everyone."

"Arnold, let me just ask you man, are you still carrying a torch for Helga Pataki?" Gerald questioned. "You haven't seen her since you left right before fifth grade and last time we spoke you hadn't heard from her in months."

"Gerald, I don't know, there was a lot going on when I left. Way too much for a ten year old to be dealing with. Then my family and I were in the middle of the jungle and I was left alone with just my thoughts and for quite some time, those thoughts just kept on leading back to Helga. Then, as time went on, her letters started including poetry and short stories and this is going to sound ridiculous but I fell in love with the way that she put her entire soul into everything that she wrote. I'm not saying that I have feelings for Helga Pataki still, but who knows?" Arnold spilled.

"Alright man. Just—just be careful." Gerald said with a deep breath. He shook his head softly. He knew deep down that he needed to tell Arnold the truth about Helga, but he didn't want to burden his friend on his first day back in the United States. Besides, he knew that was a conversation that he needed to have face-to-face with Arnold, not as voices over a phone line.

"I'm going to go take a walk and try to figure out what has changed about this city since I've left." Arnold stated.

"Well, be careful in your travels—a lot has changed in the past nine years. If you're feeling up to it, call me tomorrow morning and we'll get together over lunch." Gerald remarked before hanging up the telephone.

"You should have told him the truth." Phoebe stated. "I should inform Helga that he's back in town."

"I'm going to tell him the truth. Please don't tell Helga that Arnold's back. He wants to get his feet wet before announcing to the world that he's back and I understand that. He's spent half of his life in a secluded jungle, give him a few days to figure out this concrete jungle that he's living in now." Gerald remarked before pulling Phoebe in for a soft kiss.

* * *

"Thanks again for coming to see 'Rats: revamped' with me tonight. I can't think of anyone who enjoys musicals more than the two of us." Eugene remarked as he held the door open for Lila as they exited the Hillwood Center Theater.

"I'm ever-so-certain that the pleasure was all mine." Lila responded, "Besides, I really needed tonight to get my mind off of things."

"Still have Lorenzo on the brain?" Eugene inquired.

"Yes, I'm afraid so. Not only did he break my heart when he left me, but then I find out that he's been seeing Rhonda. That hurt ever-so-much." Lila revealed looking down at the sidewalk.

"Hon, if it makes you feel any better, he's not seeing Rhonda anymore. She kicked his butt to the curb. It was rather quick if you ask me." Eugene countered, "I honestly think that Rhonda just wanted to take him to the graduation party and then she dumped him the next day. I think she was just trying to make someone jealous—I just don't know why she would go through all of the trouble."

"That actually makes things a little worse." Lila said through a frowning face.

"I'm sorry. I guess I'm not the greatest at cheering people up." Eugene declared, scratching his head.

"You're better than you think you are." Lila remarked nudging Eugene's arm slightly. "How about you? I never really see you with anyone? What happened to Sheena, she seemed like she was gaga over you for the longest time?"

"Sheena and I are just friends." Eugene stated quickly.

"What? She was really cute. A little taller than you, but what's height have to do with anything?" Lila observed.

"She's not my type at all." Eugene laughed, tripping over a loose brick in the sidewalk falling onto his elbows. "I'm okay!"

"Whoa, that was quite the tumble." Lila uttered, reaching out to help him up. "What exactly is your type anyway? I didn't see you even hook up with anyone while we were in high school. You've never told me about any of your crushes."

"I don't know. I don't really have a type." Eugene responded, brushing the dirt off of his green blazer.

"I could definitely see you with some tall statuesque woman, blonde hair, and tan skin. Gorgeous, but still has substance." Lila envisioned aloud. Eugene tried to conjure a mental image of this person in his mind. He pictured himself in a black tuxedo, standing at the alter ready to get married. Across from him was this beautiful blonde, tan woman who was at least two inches taller than him. Then she pulled another tall figure next to her. He wore a white tuxedo and had blonde hair and piercing blue eyes. He had a strong muscular build and was a few inches taller than Eugene was. The man reached out and grazed Eugene's face with his hand and pulled him in for a passionate kiss. Eugene tried to shake the image out of his mind.

"You know, I don't really want to talk about this whole 'type' thing anymore." Eugene declared.

* * *

"This night has been one of the best nights of my life." Helga confessed to Stinky. They held hands as they walked through the park under the romantic ambiance of the moonlight and stars.

"Every day that I get to spend with you and see your beautiful smile, knowing that I'm the one responsible for your happiness, makes me feel like I'm on top of the world." Stinky smiled down at Helga, gazing into her eyes.

"I love you Stinky Peterson, more than I could have ever imagined." Helga remarked softly.

"I love you too Helga Pataki." Stinky smiled. Helga stopped in the middle of the trail and placed her hand at the back of Stinky's neck, pulling him in for a tender kiss. They turned to finish their walk and saw a figure looking over at them directly ahead of them on the trail.

"Erm—um—Hello."

"Arnold!?" Helga stated breathlessly as heart pounded. What was Arnold doing back in Hillwood?


	3. Between a Rock and a Hard Place

Between a Rock and a Hard Place

"How was the date sweetie?" Bob asked from his recliner when he heard the front door of the brownstone open and slam shut.

"It was great Dad, really amazing. I can't talk now, I'm really tired and I need to go to bed." Helga quickly blurted out before racing up the stairs.

"Kids these days. I swear." Bob said looking over at his wife sitting beside him, shaking her head in silent agreement.

Helga changed into her favorite pink nightgown and let her long blonde hair fall down onto her shoulders before throwing herself onto the bed. She grabbed her cell phone and quickly dialed Phoebe's number.

"Hello?" Phoebe whispered into the phone.

"Please tell me that Geraldo isn't still at your house. I really need to talk to you." Helga exclaimed.

"He's here, but he's sleeping. Do you want me to come over?" Phoebe questioned.

"No, no, that's okay Phoebe. I already told my dad that I was heading up here to sleep, I don't want him wondering why you're showing up at my house at midnight." Helga responded.

"Alright, well how was your date?" Phoebe inquired.

"It was amazing until the end." Helga admitted, "Listen Phoebe, I have to ask- did you have any idea that Arnold was back in town?"

"Helga-" Phoebe started to answer, "He called Gerald about two hours ago, he said that he had just got into town and he didn't want anyone to know he was back quite yet. I wanted to text you to give you the heads up but Gerald didn't want me to say anything. How did you find out that he was here? Did he contact you?"

"Criminy Pheebs! No, he _didn't_ contact me. After dinner, Stinky and I decided to go for a moonlit walk in the park. It was absolutely amazing, straight from one of those romance movies you always pick when it's your turn to choose. We were walking down the pathway when I just pulled him in for a kiss. When I opened my eyes Arnold was standing their looking at me—looking at us. Phoebe, I can't even begin to describe how I felt when I saw his face. At first, it was pure disbelief. He looked amazing, he had this sort of rugged Tarzan-esque vibe to him. You think I'm crazy don't you?" Helga revealed.

"No, not at all. You've always had quite strong feelings for Arnold. It's natural to still feel this way after all of this time. However, I must say that you could just be in love with the idea of Arnold, you don't know what type of person Arnold is now." Phoebe offered up her advice on the situation.

She remembered back when they were in fourth grade how head-over-heels in love with Arnold Shortman Helga really was. She had books of love poems written about his cornflower hair and his bright green eyes. To say that her feelings for Arnold were strong would be a complete understatement. Then she thought about the last time Helga had told her anything about Arnold. It was the summer before they entered senior year. Helga came to her house and dumped out all of her letters from Arnold over the years, there were 192 of them.

 _"I can't do this anymore." A younger Helga pleaded to her friend "I can't spend the rest of my life pining over some football head who never loved me back and is a million miles away!"_

"Phoebe, Stinky and I are in a good place right now. He asked me tonight if I would be his girlfriend. I really do love him. We are going to have no hope for the future, if I'm still consumed with the past." Helga remarked, she unclasped the necklace that she had been wearing around her neck for as long as she could remember, took a last lingering look at the locket before placing in the top drawer of her dresser.

"I'm going to try to get some rest Phoebe, call me in the morning?" Helga asked.

"Of course." Phoebe responded before hanging up her phone.

* * *

Rhonda walked into the entrance of her favorite French café. It was her Saturday ritual to pick up a coffee and an order of macaroons to begin her weekend with. Her long, straight, black hair fell down her back, the red Herve Leger dress that she was wearing beautifully accented her hourglass figure, and her black Louboutin's made her long legs seem endless.

"Hey Rhonda?" A voice behind her called out. Rhonda turned around quickly and saw Patricia Berman. Rhonda cleared her throat before responding.

"Hello, Patty. It's been quite some time!" Rhonda responded, "How have you been? You look well!"

"Honestly, between the two of us, I am just ready for this baby to vacate the premises so I can have my body back." Patty laughed. Rhonda looked up and down at Patty who was wearing a simple blue maxi dress that highlighted her large pregnancy bump. "Have you talked to Harold recently?"

"No—no, we don't really keep in touch. Never really part of the same crowd you know?" Rhonda responded nervously.

"I just feel bad. The two of us were so close in high school, but once I graduated it's like we didn't really talk anymore." Patty revealed, "I feel like I could have been there for you a little more during your senior year, but everything was just happening so fast. Harold got his GED and proposed and the next thing that I know, I'm a married 20 year old with a baby on the way."

"Please, don't worry about it. It's not like I was alone in high school." Rhonda responded.

"I know, you were Rhonda Wellington Lloyd, every girl wanted to be you and every guy wanted to be with you. I know that you were able to hold your own, but our friendship was really important to me." Patty remarked, "Well, it was nice seeing you again."

Patty grabbed her decaf tea and order of beignets and started to walk out of the café.

"Patty wait!" Rhonda called out, causing Patty to stop in her tracks and turn around. Rhonda walked over to Patty and pulled out a gold envelope from her Michael Kors handbag, "I'm having a party tonight, it's a simple, classy housewarming party with finger foods and light piano music. Definitely pregnancy friendly. Please tell me that you'll be there?"

"Thanks for the invite. I'll definitely be there!" Patty responded. Rhonda watched Patty walk out the doors towards the southbound subway stop. She whipped out her phone and dialed Harold's number.

"Hello?" Harold answered.

"I invited Patty to my housewarming party tonight, so make sure that you're there with her tonight." Rhonda blurted into the phone.

"What do you mean you invited her to your party? I thought we talked about this? There's no way that I'm stepping foot into that house with Patty on my arm. Do you think that I'm crazy?" Harold shouted into the telephone.

"It would look worse if refused to come to my party than if you came with Patty. Besides, no one knows about us. Please just come, I'll make it worth your while." Rhonda whispered into the phone as a rebuttal. Harold was silent on the other end. "Harold?"

"This seems an awful lot like we're playing with fire, but I'll be there." Harold softly responded before hanging up the telephone.

* * *

Arnold looked around his old childhood bedroom. The walls that used to be filled with the latest technology were now empty walls, with vague memories of what used to be here. He looked at the three large boxes that sat in his huge empty room. The only things he brought along with him from San Lorenzo.

Arnold's cell phone began to ring loudly, he pulled it out from his back pocket and answered it.

"Hello?" Arnold stated, sounding more like a question than a phone greeting.

"Well good morning to you too man. How is your first 24 hours in Hillwood treating you? It's got to be a total culture shock returning after so long." Gerald remarked.

"Yeah, that's putting it lightly." Arnold chuckled, "this place is like a mansion after living in a dwelling that resembled a hut."

"So—what happened last night man?" Gerald inquired, "I heard that you ran into Helga and Stinky?"

"Yeah, by the way, thanks for the heads up on that man." Arnold quipped, as he tore open one of his boxes that needed to be unpacked.

"Man, I'm sorry. I really am. I wanted to tell you but I didn't think it was something that you needed to hear over the phone. I was going to tell you in person today." Gerald confessed.

"Seriously man, it's alright. I could do without that mental image but- " Arnold managed a brief chuckle before his sentence trailed off.

Knock. Knock. Someone knocked on Arnold's bedroom door.

"Arnold, sweetie, there is someone here to see you." Arnold's mother, Stella called into the room.

"Uh—Thanks mom." Arnold responded, "Hey Gerald, do you mind if we meet up later, there's someone here for me."

"That's fine man. Rhonda is having a housewarming party later tonight, I'll text you the details. It'll be a great way for you to see all of your old friends again." Gerald urged.

"Sounds great, I'll see you there." Arnold replied before hanging up the telephone and heading down the stairs.

"Kimba, if your friend wants to stay for dinner, it will be ready in 8 minutes." Grandma called from the kitchen.

"Grandma, it is 10 am." Arnold said with a deadpan face before opening the door of the boarding house.

"Good morning- I um- Hi Arnold." Helga fumbled as she tried to find the right words to say to him.

She looked up at him standing on the top step of his stoop, getting a much better view of him in the daylight. His long blonde hair was effortlessly pushed back, his green eyes sparkled in the sunlight as his brow furrowed in an attempt to keep the sun out of his eyes, and his mustache and beard were thick and luscious as though he had been growing his facial hair for the past several years. His basic white t-shirt hung nicely off of his 6'0" muscular frame.

"Helga, I wasn't expecting to see you today. I actually wasn't expecting to see anyone for quite some time." Arnold responded nervously.

Arnold also took the time to take a look at Helga. Her long blonde hair flowed softly behind her with the gentle wind. Her eyes, perfectly framed by her long eyelashes, were the brightest blue that he had ever seen. Her pink lips looked soft, plush, and kissable. Then his mind raced back to the previous night seeing Helga and Stinky kiss. He shook his head in an attempt to erase the thought from his mind.

"I just wanted to talk to you. I would have called before coming over—but I don't exactly have your phone number." Helga mustered up a soft, forced laugh. Arnold descended down his steps and stood directly in front of Helga.

"Helga I'm sorry." Arnold quickly blurted out, "about last night. I didn't mean to interrupt your date. I was just walking trying to clear my mind."

"Its fine, Arnold, I'm not really worried about that. Arnold, why didn't you tell me that you were coming back?" Helga asked, taking a seat on the bottom step of the boarding house. Arnold took a seat next to her.

"Why did you stop writing me?" Arnold questioned, "Is it because you started seeing someone?"

"No, that wasn't it at all. Things were just getting too real and you were a thousand miles away." Helga argued.

"I didn't even get a goodbye letter, the letters just stopped." Arnold rehashed, "I sent you letters for weeks hoping that I would get a response to even one of them—and you wanted me to tell you that I was coming back? Did you even mean the things that you told me—or did you stop writing me because Stinky came into the picture?"

Helga jumped up from her seat.

"Maybe this was a mistake coming here." Helga said starting to walk down the road towards her house.

"Helga wait- I'm sorry." Arnold pleaded.

"I'll see you around football head." Helga said walking away, leaving Arnold standing in front of the boarding house alone.


	4. Dancing with Fire

Dancing With Fire

"This is really what you're planning on wearing tonight? A white t-shirt and some old sweatpants?" Gerald questioned his best friend's fashion choices.

"It's comfortable." Arnold offered.

"It's hideous." Gerald countered, "Besides, this is going to be one of Rhonda's little frou-frou parties. I heard there's going to be a harp player—if you show up to a party like that, looking like this, people are going to try to sponsor you for $1 a day."

Arnold couldn't help but laugh at his best friend's sense of humor at a time like this. Fashion wasn't very big in San Lorenzo and neither were harp players.

"A harp player? Really?" Arnold questioned in disbelief.

"Okay, maybe I heard something about a piano player, but the harp sounded classier. So sue me." Gerald laughed playfully punching his best friend in the arm. "I'm so glad you're back man. Now let's find something suitable for you to wear."

Arnold looked through nearly every men's store in the mall, the fashion seemed so different from when he left. While browsing through one store he saw a man who was wearing tight skinny jeans, but at the same time the pants were so low that his boxers were showing.

"You ready to throw in the towel man? We've been at this mall for 3 hours, I think that I've got the good foundation for an American wardrobe now." Arnold laughed displaying his 7 shopping bags to Gerald.

"Yeah, yeah—let's grab a bite in the food court and then we'll head home buddy." Gerald remarked walking in the direction of the food court.

* * *

"Olga, I really don't understand how our conversation took such a turn for the worst yesterday." Helga spoke into the cell phone as she looked in her closet for something to wear to Rhonda's housewarming party, "I swear that I went over there with the best of intentions."

"Baby sister, sometimes you will have the best intentions but unfortunately, things still won't work out. I know how you feel about Stinky—I also know how you used to feel about Arnold. You're going to have to just let things play out the way they were intended to… like in Romeo and Juliet."

"Olga—Romeo and Juliet both died in the end; I'm not sure how that is supposed to be a comforting statement." Helga laughed into the telephone.

"I have to go baby sister, have a good time at your party tonight Helga. I love you." Olga spoke sweetly into the telephone.

"I love you too." Helga responded before hanging up.

 _This is it, the perfect outfit._ Helga spoke to herself before grabbing the pieces to her outfit from the closet and laying them carefully out on her queen sized canopy bed.

* * *

"Wow, you've got to be kidding me." Arnold stated in amazement as he began to step out of the taxi. The taxi dropped them off directly in front of Rhonda Wellington Lloyd's new townhome on the Upper East Side. "You're telling me that Rhonda owns this townhouse? She's not living with her parents?"

"Yes, she got this house as a graduation present from her parents. The average selling price for a home in this neighborhood averages $3.5 million dollars, quite a generous graduation gift if you ask me." Phoebe responded as she adjusted her form fitting, but elegant green gown.

"Generous? That's putting it lightly considering all I got for graduation was a party and a reminder from my dad to stop using so much electricity." Gerald chuckled, "I think Nadine is supposed to be moving in with her soon though."

"Full names please." A tall muscular man in an all-black tuxedo with white gloves demanded.

Gerald stepped up closer to the doorman, clearly unintimidated by the door person Rhonda hired.

"Gerald Johannsen, Phoebe Heyerdahl and Arnold Shortman." Gerald stated confidently. The doorman looked down at his invite list and then back at the three eighteen year olds staring at him before holding up a finger indicating they needed to wait. Then he whispered something into his headset.

"Excuse me sir, is there a problem?" Arnold questioned. Before the doorman could respond, the black French doors of Rhonda's townhouse swung open and an irate Rhonda Wellington Lloyd appeared, wearing a tight mermaid style red gown with rhinestone accents. She stormed out of the front door with two large men, also dressed in all black, followed behind her.

"Nate, what seems to be the problem? I asked you to notify me in case of an emergency, I get all the way out here—and there doesn't seem to be any emergency to me." Rhonda exclaimed towards the doorman.

"Rhonda—I'm sorry, I should have contacted you before I just showed up at your party, if its an issue I can leave." Arnold bargained. Rhonda descended the stairs that led to her 3 story home to get a better look at the tanned blonde man that was speaking to her.

"Arnold—Arnold Shortman- is that really you!?" Rhonda squealed before running down and throwing her arms around Arnold's neck. "Arnold, I am _so_ sorry for the inconvenience, please come in and make yourself at home."

Rhonda grabbed Arnold by the hand and led him past the three men and into the party. Phoebe and Gerald looked at each other in amusement, exchanged a knowing look, and giggled before heading into the party themselves.

* * *

"Full names please." Nate the doorman stated to two new guests arriving at the front door.

"Criminy, it's a housewarming party not the Oscars.. are you kidding me?" Helga questioned, pushing her blonde bangs out of her face.

"It's okay darling." Stinky stated, rubbing Helga's bare shoulders and pulling her closer to his tall frame. "Stinky Peterson and Helga Pataki."

Nate looked down at his clipboard and waved the pair into the home.

"Wow, I've never seen anything like this before." Stinky remarked as they entered into the foyer. A large black, white and gold balloon archway framed the main living area where the party was located at. Professional photographers were stationed in various areas, several women in skimpy black and gold cocktail outfits carried around silver trays of champagne and drink selections, while several men wearing white button down shirts, black vests and black ties were carrying trays of finger foods. In the middle of the large living room was a small party stage that featured a cover singer and piano player doing renditions of currently popular music.

"Yes, it's a little much for a housewarming party—but that's Rhonda for you." Helga remarked.

"Arnold how long have you been back in Hillwood?" Rhonda questioned, intertwining her right arm with his left arm while taking a sip of her vodka martini.

"I just got back to Hillwood yesterday—once again I'm very sorry for attempting to crash your party but Gerald thought this would be a nice way to let all of her old friends know that I'm back in the city- had I known it was such an elaborate affair—" Arnold began to explain.

"Nonsense Arnold, you're always welcome in my home." Rhonda interrupted in a breathy tone. Out of the corner of her eye she spotted Harold walk through the door in a dark blue button down with a black tie, holding the arm of Patty who was wearing a long royal blue gown with a black sash placed right above her baby bump. "Um… Arnold, will you excuse me for a moment."

Rhonda tried to shake any feelings of guilt or jealousy from her face as she approached Mr. and Mrs. Berman.

"Wow, this place is beautiful!" Patty exclaimed, leaning in to hug her friend Rhonda. Rhonda forced a small smile back at the mother-to-be and glanced over at Harold who was holding her by the arm.

"Thank you for attending, it means so much to me that you could come." Rhonda stated as she grabbed another vodka martini from the tray of a passing cocktail waitress and taking a sip of it. "Harold, Patty—make yourselves at home and if you need anything let me know."

Harold watched as Rhonda sauntered away towards a tall, slender muscular man with a football shaped head that looked eerily similar to Arnold Shortman. Rhonda walked up to the man and pushed his blonde hair out of his face and interlinked her arm with his. He could see the two of them talking and then suddenly Rhonda threw back her head with a boisterous laugh as though he was the funniest man in the world.

"Harold, honey, is that who I think it is?" Patty inquired, rubbing her 35 week baby bump. "I think we should go and say hi! I'm sure he has tons of stories about his time in San Lorenzo."

"Um—he seems a little busy right now." Harold remarked trying to keep any tone of jealousy out of his voice. "How about we go see what this singer is all about?"

* * *

Arnold finally managed to free himself from Rhonda's conversation and began to mingle the party on his own. He was surprised at how much had changed in Hillwood, but how much still remained the same. He stood at the bar holding on to a half-full glass of Captain and Coke, when a tall figure approached him.

"Hey, Arnold, it sure is wild to see you back in the city." Stinky remarked, extending his hand out to Arnold for a handshake.

"Well, technically I saw you last night." Arnold stated, feeling his cheeks get a little rosy.

"Aww yes, I'm sorry I have been on cloud nine since last night. Helga and me are finally together. I've liked her for a long time Arnold, have you ever wanted something for so long and finally after waiting for so long it happens?" Stinky questioned, Arnold looked across the room and saw Helga. Her long blonde hair was pulled into an elegant updo, exposing her soft, feminine yet muscular shoulders. Her simple pink gown lightly draped over all of her slight curves and the slit in the side teased Arnold with glimpses of her long legs.

"Yeah, I know what that's like. I'm going to go mingle for a bit... but congratulations man." Arnold stated before he walked off into the distance.

"Arnold, dear, I've been looking all over for you." Rhonda stated pulling Arnold close to her and running her fingers through his blonde hair. "You're so rugged and handsome"

Helga caught a glimpse of Rhonda looking into Arnold's eyes and felt a twinge of envy, jealousy and pain wrapped up into one. Stinky walked up to Helga and placed his arm around her waist.

"Are you okay puddin'?" he asked concerned about the look that he saw in his girlfriend's bright blue eyes that he couldn't quite place.

"I'm fine honey, I just really need some fresh air. All of this hoity-toity, high society jazz is just really getting to me." Helga said as she walked off to find a balcony or somewhere private.

* * *

"Rhonda, can I talk to you for just a moment?" Harold interrupted.

"I'm a little busy right now Harold." Rhonda snipped.

"I was just leaving." Arnold remarked, he couldn't get the combination of how good Helga looked along with the kiss he had seen between her and Stinky the night before out of his mind or how closely Stinky's words to him matched his own feelings. He needed some time to himself.

"Rhonda, what are you doing?" Harold questioned, pulling Rhonda into the library. "Every time I look at you, you're hanging all over someone."

"I'm single. I can do whatever I want. Where is your wife, shouldn't you be somewhere with her?" Rhonda asked, pulling away from Harold.

"Can we not do this tonight?" Harold questioned, "Besides, you demanded that I bring her here tonight."

Rhonda walked over to Harold and ran her fingers down his back and looked up at him sensually.

"Oh no, not now, not tonight and not with my wife here." Harold demanded. Rhonda reached up and started to undo his tie and the top buttons of his shirt. She caressed the back of his neck and leaned in for a kiss. Harold could feel himself begin to give in to the temptation.

* * *

Helga found herself on the rooftop of Rhonda's townhouse overlooking the city, alone with just her thoughts.

"Nine years have passed, why can't I shake these thoughts and feelings?" Helga questioned silently to herself before she was startled by the sound of the rooftop door slamming shut.

"Is there anyone out there?" Helga called out.

"It's just me—I just needed some fresh air." Arnold remarked, "I didn't realize you were up here—I can leave if you want me to." Arnold stated walking over to her. Helga moved away and plopped herself onto the cream and wicker outdoor couch.

"No, you're welcome here. I'm not surprised you needed fresh air with you and Rhonda breathing down each other's necks all night—one night back in Hillwood and you already are hooking up with someone, unbelievable. I guess you really aren't the guy I used to know." Helga snipped, kicking off her high-heel shoes and folding her legs up to her chest.

"Don't be ridiculous Helga. You know- " Arnold began to state, taking a seat next to Helga.

"Not to mention how rude you were this morning. Implying that I never liked you—" Helga interrupted then trailed off.

"That was wrong of me Helga." Arnold admitted looking down at his new shoes, "There was a lot going on and we were thousands of miles away from each other. You were all that I thought about for quite some time—even on the flight back all I could think about was seeing you. Of course, my visions didn't include Stinky's tongue down your throat—but here we are." Arnold remarked.

"I couldn't wait forever for you." Helga stated feeling her eyes start to water slightly.

"It would be unfair of me to expect that you would." Arnold replied, his brow furrowing slightly not trying to show the sadness that he felt.

"Look, Arnold, I don't want to lose you—as a friend I mean. You're very important to me." Helga admitted, placing a hand on Arnold's knee. Arnold placed his hand on top of Helga's.

"You're important to me too, your friendship means a lot to me." Arnold responded softly and Helga could feel her heart begin to pound.

"Okay, um—well I guess I'll be seeing you around." Helga jolted up suddenly, grabbing her shoes and offering one last lingering look back at Arnold before heading back to the party. Arnold stood up and looked at the skyline of the city, wondering how differently life could have been if he had come back to Hillwood sooner.


	5. You Left Me Standing in the Doorway

**You Left Me Standing In the Doorway**

"You look amazing! How far along are you?" Sheena questioned. Patty and Sheena found themselves chatting away in a conversation as though they were old friends, even though they actually didn't talk much throughout their school careers. Patty had grown to realize that certain life events prompted people to ask a lot of questions, even if you hadn't been very close in the past. Pregnancy was one of these life events.

"I'm 35 weeks, so it's official—Baby Berman could come at any moment now." Patty responded, rubbing her baby bump lovingly.

"What is it like? Are you excited? Do you know what you're having?" Sheena asked wide-eyed and excitedly.

"Harold and I decided that we didn't want to know the sex of the baby until he or she arrives, but between the two of us—I'm thinking it's going to be a girl." Patty responded, "Pregnancy is obviously a very new experience to me. It's extremely exciting, however it does have its downsides. Like now for example, baby has decided to use mommy's bladder as a pillow. Will you excuse me for a moment?"

 _Great timing_. Patty sarcastically thought to herself as she got up in search of a restroom. As she got further away from the living room the boisterous music of the party began to fade away. _One of these doors has to be the bathroom_. She gave a light knock at the first door and jiggled the handle a bit and slowly opened the door. The room was dark but she knew she was in the right place, _Just in time_ she thought to herself.

* * *

Helga wandered back into the party with her shoes in one hand searching for her boyfriend. She looked across the room to see if she could spot him in the crowd and she immediately found him. It wasn't a difficult task when your boyfriend was 6'3".

"Stink-o, I know you're having a great time—but do you mind if we head out a little early?" Helga asked.

"Are you feeling okay darling?" Stinky questioned with his quaint southern drawl, which was laughed at when he was younger—but had become quite the hit with the ladies as he matured. He looked down into his girlfriend's beautiful eyes and saw that they were filled with an emotion he couldn't quite put his finger on—but he knew it wasn't anything pleasant. "I have something that might cheer you up—let's head out."

* * *

Patty washed her hands and caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror. She thought to herself about how much her life had changed in just two short years. She shut off the water and walked out of the bathroom and made her way back to the party. When she was nearly at the end of the hallway she was taken aback by the slight familiar sounds of lovemaking. She didn't pay the noises any mind until she heard a faint male voice. For a split second she thought that it sounded very similar to her husband.

She got closer to the door to investigate further and while she still heard the moans of a woman, she didn't hear the male voice again. She paced back and forth outside of the door, waiting to see if she heard the voice again, when she didn't, she decided to check the doorknob to see if the door was locked or not. It wasn't.

Patty cautiously opened the door just a crack, just enough to peek inside. What she saw made her take a step back, it was a sight she would never be able to get out of her mind. Rhonda Wellington Lloyd, one of her closest friends, was naked wearing nothing but a pair of Jimmy Choo heels that were resting on top of her husband's shoulders as he fucked her.

Patty quickly shut the door and could feel herself holding back tears. She rubbed her baby bump lovingly and rushed towards the door.

"Patty—is everything okay?" Sheena questioned as she was heading out the door.

"Yes—um, I have to head out, I'm not feeling well." Patty managed to blurt out before opening the front doors and heading outside. She walked to the end of the block and let the cool breeze hit her face before she let the tears fall. Through watery eyes she hailed a cab and although the drive home was only ten minutes in duration, it was the longest cab ride of her life.

* * *

Harold got dressed, readjusted himself and wandered out of the library cautiously, not wanting to be spotted by anyone. He opened the door and looked both ways down the hallway before exiting the room. He headed straight for the bar and ordered a shot of jack and a vodka and coke. He slammed the shot of jack down, grabbed his drink and headed towards the stage where he was certain his wife would be there waiting for him.

He made several laps around the party and there was no sight of his wife anywhere. He grabbed his phone out of his pocket and dialed her number, but it went straight to voicemail.

"Everything okay man?" Lorenzo questioned, after Harold had passed him and his group for the third time.

"Yeah, just—you know how women are. I'm not sure where Patty went off to." Harold confessed.

"I think I saw her leave about ten, maybe twenty minutes ago." Lorenzo remarked.

"This—this just isn't like her." Harold stuttered, "I think I'm going to head out. I'll uh… I'll talk to you guys later."

Harold headed outside, northbound towards the subway station—a ride he had taken many times, but this time he didn't know exactly what it would lead to.

* * *

As the party began to wind down, Arnold continued to catch up with old friends, acquaintances, and even old crushes. However, he just couldn't get Helga G. Pataki off of his brain.

"Arnold, man, what is going on with you?" Gerald questioned as they climbed into the taxi together. Arnold sighed and shifted in his seat a little before answering.

"It's just a little overwhelming. I'm so used to life in San Lorenzo. It's taking a little time for me to get readjusted to life back here." Arnold responded with a half-truth. He wasn't exactly ready to admit everything that was going on with Helga—especially not in front of her best friend.

"You'll feel comfortable here again before you know it. Once you have a daily routine set up here, it will be almost as though you never left." Phoebe reassured.

"Yeah man, everything will work itself out soon enough." Gerald added on, giving his friend a knowing glance.

"I hope you're right Gerald." Arnold responded, staring out the window getting lost in his thoughts.

* * *

"We're here!" Stinky exclaimed, looking over at his girlfriend eagerly.

"We're where exactly?" Helga questioned, wanting to match his enthusiasm but failing miserably. She was trying to look out of the window during the drive but it was dark, she was unfamiliar with the area, and her mind was clouded with thoughts of Arnold.

"Wait right here, I have to set something up—it will only take a second." Stinky stated before giving his girlfriend a kiss on the forehead and getting out of the pickup truck. Helga looked out of the window, the area was nearly pitch black—she was wondering what the hell Stinky was doing. She loved him but sometimes he didn't make any sense at all.

After a few minutes, Stinky opened Helga's door and offered her a hand to step down. He took her hand and led her to the cab of his pickup truck.

"What's all this?" Helga questioned with a cross between a laugh and a giggle. She looked at the cab of his truck, which was previously empty—but was now adorned with pillows and blankets.

"Well, I reckon this is the most beautiful view of the stars in all of Hillwood and if you don't mind, I'd like to view them with the most beautiful girl in the world." Stinky responded, bringing a smile to Helga's face. Stinky helped her into the cab of the truck and they both got comfortable. Helga rested her head on Stinky's chest as they both looked up at the beautiful black sky, illuminated only by the brightness of the full moon and the sparkling stars. You could see the Hillwood city outline in the background. Helga found herself at a loss for words for a moment.

"This is amazing." Helga was finally able to say. Stinky readjusted himself and looked over at Helga.

"My sweet darling, I'm not sure what got you down earlier tonight—but I just want you to know that I would do anything to make you happy." Stinky smiled, looking into Helga's eyes. Helga smiled back and saw the sincerity and love in Stinky's eyes. She grabbed the base of his neck and pulled him in for a soft kiss which quickly turned passionate and for the first time in a while, thoughts of Arnold were nowhere to be found.


	6. Torn

**Torn**

Harold arrived home to the quaint brownstone apartment he shared with his wife Patty, expecting her to be home waiting for him. However, when he arrived home his wife was nowhere to be found, her overnight bag was missing and many of the clothes from her side of the closet were gone too. Harold tried to run every scenario through his mind, but none of them made any sense.

Finally, two hours after he left the party, his phone vibrated on the nightstand.

"Hello?" Harold answered nervously.

"I'm so sorry to leave you at the party by yourself. My dad—he isn't doing well—I'm going to be at my parent's house for a few days." Patty spoke into the phone, trying to keep her voice from breaking. Harold sighed a breath of relief.

"Oh thank god! I was so worried about you hon." Harold responded, "Well, um—you know what I mean." Harold fumbled with his words.

"I will keep you posted with what is going on." Patty stated.

"Do you want me to come over there?" Harold questioned.

"No!" Patty sharply spat into the phone. "I mean, no, it will be okay. It is getting late hon, I'll call you in the morning."

"Okay, I love you." Harold spoke into the phone but Patty had already hung up her line.

Patty sat in her childhood bedroom alone, confused, and uncertain of the future. She was pregnant, her husband was cheating on her, and most of their money was tied up in the butcher shop Harold was attempting to purchase. Her mind was running wild with questions. How long had this been going on behind her back? Was Harold even still attracted to her? Was Harold really excited about having a baby or did her changing body drive him into her arms. She tried to clear her mind of all the negative thoughts and focused on getting a good night's sleep. She knew that from this day forward the only thing that she could think about was making a better life for her child.

* * *

It had been almost a week since Arnold arrived back in Hillwood and he was finally getting back into the swing of things around the old neighborhood. Part of what made him so comfortable so quickly was how much of the neighborhood was the same from when he left.

As Arnold walked downtown he passed many sights that were familiar to his childhood. Mrs. Vitello's flower shop was still up and running, although Mrs. Vitello had since hired more staff so that she could quietly retire. Slausen's Ice Cream Parlor still had the same old-time charm as he remembered. Nothing conjured up memories as much as passing by Gerald Field.

Arnold gazed longingly into the vacant lot that was still in use to this day. Arnold saw a group of children who couldn't be older than ten years old deep into a game of baseball. He was so consumed and in awe that children were still using this field nearly ten years after him and his friends transformed it, that he bumped directly into another piece of his past.

"Hey, watch where you're going football head." A familiar voice remarked, Arnold snapped out of his daze and looked up to see Helga dramatically wiping the front of her grey blazer.

"Sorry, I was just thinking about how many memories I have in just this one block. Remember how much time we all used to spend in this vacant lot when we were younger?" Arnold questioned.

"I know, I walk by this area almost every day on my way home from work and I'm always just so surprised at how great the neighborhood kids are at maintaining the place. It's really a vacant lot by the kids and for the kids." Helga chuckled, she looked at Arnold staring reminiscently at Gerald field, his blonde brows slightly furrowed and green eyes full of emotion.

"Hey, Helga." Arnold started to say as he shifted weight from one leg to another nervously, "I am really sorry about the other night."

"Don't worry about it Arnold." Helga reassured.

"No, seriously. Our friendship means so much to me—I don't want all of our interactions to end in one or both of us being upset. Please, let me buy you a cup of coffee." Arnold offered.

"You really don't have to do that." Helga responded.

"I want to." Arnold pleaded. Helga contemplated for a moment and looked down at her iphone for the time. It was 5:45 on a Tuesday afternoon, it's not like she had anywhere else to be.

"Lead the way football head." Helga responded enthusiastically.

* * *

Eugene and Lila had become friends when they were working closely together on a school musical in elementary school called Eugene, Eugene. However, they didn't become best friends until high school, when they both joined the High School Drama club and were paired together for many of the leading romantic roles together. Rumors began to circulate Hillwood High about the new "it" couple, but they never felt anything for each other in that manner. However, they did have many of the same interests so their friendship naturally evolved as they got older. It was no surprise to anyone that they ended up as roommates right after High School.

"I really need you to do me a favor today Lila and I'm not going to take no for an answer." Eugene remarked as he walked into the living room. Lila was sitting on the couch in her pajamas, watching episodes of Golden Girls on Netflix with a box of Girl Scout cookies perched next to her.

"What's that?" Lila asked.

"Can you do something today that doesn't involve sitting on the couch and moping about a relationship that has been over for three months now?" Eugene pleaded.

"I'm ever so certain that I don't know what you're talking about." Lila insisted, "And it's been two months, one week, and three days if you want to be accurate."

Eugene rolled his eyes at his friend.

"Seriously. You used to jog every morning, you used to volunteer every Friday at the library and read to children. Now, look, it's 2:00 in the afternoon on a Friday and you're sitting on the couch watching Golden Girls—which I admit, is one of my favorite shows, but enough is enough!" Eugene exclaimed.

"Fine, fine—have it your way. I'll be back in an hour, I could use some fresh air anyway." Lila responded as she stormed into her room.

Lila quickly put her long brownish-red hair into a ponytail, threw on a pair of aerie leggings and a loose fitting plain white t-shirt, grabbed her headphones and headed out the door and towards the city park.

 _Eugene is right_ , Lila thought to herself, since her breakup with Lorenzo she really wasn't herself. After a few minutes she started to get tired. She used to be able to run the entire two mile circuit of the park, now she found herself sitting on a bench at the half mile mark trying to catch her breath.

"Lila Sawyer?" A deep voice questioned, Lila looked up to spot a man wearing a pair of grey sweatpants and white t-shirt. He was tall and slender but she could tell from the way that his white shirt draped over his body that he was quite muscular.

"Oh my goodness, Arnold is that you?" Lila asked through panted breaths. "I'm ever so surprised, I didn't think you were going to ever come back to Hillwood."

"Yeah, I'm back, still getting my bearings. I'm surprised I didn't see you at Rhonda's housewarming party last weekend." Arnold commented, causing Lila to blush slightly.

"Unfortunately, Rhonda and I aren't on the best terms right now." Lila admitted.

"I'm sorry to hear that." Arnold responded, "Forgive me, I'm still catching up with everyone and seeing how the past few years have treated everyone—I didn't mean to reopen an old wound so to speak."

"You don't have to apologize, it's okay." Lila responded.

"Alright, well, I guess I'll be heading out now. It was great to see you." Arnold commented as he looked down at his watch.

"Wait!" Lila said as she stood up from the park bench. "Would you like to go out for dinner sometime?"

"Sure—that sounds nice." Arnold responded. "Does Sunday night work for you?"

"Sunday night would be oh so perfect!" Lila smiled as she grabbed her phone out of the pocket of her leggings and exchanged phone numbers with him before he jogged off down the path. Lila headed home with a positive boost in mood and energy.

"See—I told you the fresh air would do wonders for you!" Eugene exclaimed when he saw Lila bounce happily into the living room.

"Okay, okay, I'm ever so certain you were finally right about something!" Lila joked, "Hey, what are you watching?"

"I may have been wrong to judge your Golden Girls binge." Eugene admitted.

"Is this really how we're going to spend our Friday night? Two single people and we're going to watch Golden Girls?" Lila questioned while chuckling to herself.

"You get the pajamas and blankets, I'll pop the popcorn." Eugene responded excitedly.

* * *

"Wait wait—that's not even the best part." Helga spurted out through her laughter, "Then, I had on that ridiculous dress—more like a brown sack as if now that I was blind, I was also now a peasant of some sort."

"After all these years, I still don't know how I fell for that." Arnold laughed, then lost himself in a memory for a moment that brought a mischievous smile to his face.

"Hold on Arnoldo, what was that look for?" Helga prodded.

"Oh no, I can't just _tell_ you. It's a secret—If I tell you, you'd have to tell me a secret in return. You sure you can handle that?" Arnold grinned.

"Oh—trust me, I can handle it." Helga remarked boldly.

Arnold and Helga enjoyed themselves tremendously earlier in the week, so much that they had been to the coffee shop together at around the same time every day since then.

"Alright, you seem to remember that April Fool's Day Dance pretty well." Arnold remarked slyly, "Do you remember when we did the tango in front of the entire grade?"

Helga thought back, she remembered how aggressive Arnold had been. The looks that he gave, the forceful way that he threw her body around while whispering into her ear. It was oddly sensual and fueled her dreams and poetry for months. The memory sent slight chills down her spine and brought a playful smile to her face.

"I may, vaguely remember that." Helga responded.

"Okay, well the truth is—I was kind of flirting with you." Arnold chuckled, rubbing the back of his neck as he waited for Helga's reaction. Her eyes widened in amazement and she reached across the table and gave him a playful shove.

"Seriously?" Helga laughed, "I still think about that dance—on occasion."

"Me too." Arnold admitted. Neither one of them could wipe the smile off of their faces, Arnold broke the ice by clearing his throat a little. "You're up Pataki."

Helga racked her brain for a moment. There were a lot of secrets that she could bring up. Some more embarrassing than others. After a few minutes of thinking she finally decided on what secret she would tell.

"Okay, remember in fourth grade when we were doing the production of Romeo and Juliet?" Helga asked. Arnold smiled and shook his head yes. Helga took a deep breath and continued.

"Remember how there were four other girls who had the part before me?" Helga questioned and Arnold nodded his head, she took another deep breath, "I kinda convinced them all to drop out of the play so I could play Juliet."

"Wow, seriously?" Arnold chuckled to himself, "How did you do it?"

"It was pretty easy—except for Lila but I had to tell her a pretty big secret to convince her to drop out of the play." Helga admitted, she could feel her face feeling slightly flushed.

"Ahh, now you have to tell me what you told Lila to convince her to drop out of the play." Arnold teased.

"Oh no way football head, you know too much already." Helga playfully insisted.

"I'll just ask Lila tomorrow. I bet she'll tell me." Arnold chuckled. Helga could feel her face getting red again. She couldn't place what emotion was making her face flushed this time, anger, jealousy, perhaps a bit of both.

"What do you mean, 'You'll ask Lila tomorrow.'" Helga asked through gritted teeth.

"I mean that I'm going to dinner with Lila tomorrow night." Arnold responded with a confused tone, "Please don't tell me that you're upset about that."

"Oh no, I'm not upset. Don't let me stand in the way of your date with little miss perfect." Helga scoffed, folding her arms across her chest.

"You're seriously upset right now! I don't understand." Arnold stated, his eyebrows lowered. Helga felt his emerald green eyes staring daggers into her soul.

"There's nothing to understand Football Head. You go on your little date with _Lila_ , your freaking dream girl. It's okay. You want to have coffee tomorrow before your date so I can help you pick out the perfect outfit _or_ after so we can discuss marriage plans?" Helga snapped.

"Helga—are you kidding me? You're the one with the boyfriend, you think I really enjoy seeing a picture of Stinky of all people pop up on your phone every time we're hanging out. Oh no, but it's so _inappropriate_ for me to have dinner with an old friend." Arnold defended himself. Helga gasped and looked down at her iPhone, 7:30. Three unread messages.

Stink-o: I hope you had a good day at work, can't wait to see you tonight darling. (5:45 pm)

Stink-o: I'll pick you up at 8:00 pm, hope you're ready for a fun time. (6:38 pm)

Stink-o: Leaving in 5 minutes! See you soon, I love you. (7:28 pm)

"Shit." Helga muttered under her breath. She grabbed her purse and threw ten dollars onto the table. "I've got to go—enjoy your date."

Helga rushed out the door and hailed the nearest cab, calling Stinky on the ride home. Hopefully he wouldn't be too upset at her being late.

* * *

Rhonda wasn't sure what to expect when Patty Berman called her out of the blue and invited her to coffee. If Rhonda was completely honest with herself, she didn't really care much about hooking up with Harold behind Patty's back. I mean, if you want to get technical, they were established before Patty and Harold even knew each other. However, seeing Patty in person, pregnant with Harold's child really began to make her feel a little guilty. Guilty enough to stop the affair? No.

Rhonda attempted to text Harold a few times since the party but he always had an excuse as to why he couldn't come over at the moment.

She walked into Chez Paris and saw her friend Patty nestled in a booth next to the bar, already settled in with a club soda and lime.

"Patty—so great to see you!" Rhonda exclaimed with her hands outreached for a hug but Patty stayed put.

"Please have a seat." Patty stated, emotionless, motioning for Rhonda to take the seat across from her. Before Patty could say anything, the bartender appeared at the booth.

"Anything to drink for you miss?" The bartender asked.

"Yes, I'll take a belvedere martini, straight up, slightly dirty—three olives, please and thank you." Rhonda quickly rattled off.

"Certainly, do you have your ID?" The bartender questioned, Rhonda smiled and looked up at the bartender.

"You know what- be a dear and make that extra dirty, if you catch my drift." Rhonda remarked, looking at the waiter sensually while biting her lip slightly. The bartender looked a little flustered.

"Um—right away miss." The bartender stammered before scurrying away.

"These boys—they're all the same. Pathetic really." Rhonda commented, before the bartender dropped off her drink with his number written on a beverage napkin tucked underneath the stem of the glass.

"Amateur." Rhonda scoffed. Patty rolled her eyes with anger.

"I really need to ask you something and I need you to be honest with me." Patty stated, trying to keep her face void of any emotion. Rhonda took a sip of her drink and looked across the table at Patty.

"Of course, I'm your best friend aren't I?" Rhonda responded lowering her eyes slightly. The words sent daggers through Patty's heart and her mind replayed the night she walked in on her with her husband. She tried to shake the thoughts out of her mind.

 _Stay calm, just ask her so she can be honest with you and you can move on_. Patty thought to herself. _Don't be rude… just ask calmly._

"You really have some nerve coming in here pretending that you're my _best friend_ , when I know you had sex with my husband." Patty blurted out. Rhonda's face turned bright red.

"I don't know what you're talking about." Rhonda stammered, shaking her head no.

"You know exactly what I'm talking about. Don't play dumb Rhonda, I swear—this is not the time. How could you, I've done so much for you. You were at our wedding. I've see you do this many times to many other women but I never thought you would do this to me." Patty angrily yelled, she could feel the warm tears flowing down her face.

"Okay fine, yes it happened. I'm sorry. I'll stop." Rhonda responded. She seemed slightly shaken but otherwise unaffected by the revelation, her lack of concern regarding the situation fueled Patty's anger.

"You'll stop?" Patty questioned, "How long has this been going on?" Patty tried to brace herself for the answer.

"You really want to know?" Rhonda asked, before taking a large gulp of her martini.

"Yes Rhonda, I really want to fucking know." Patty responded. "How did this whole thing begin Rhonda, I really want to know."

"You went off to Washington State. It was our senior year and I really could have used you around to keep me grounded. Well, Thomas broke up with me right before the homecoming dance. I tried to call Nadine, she was busy. I tried to call you, you were busy. So Harold and I got to talking. Apparently, you weren't paying much attention to him and he was reassuring me that any guy would be lucky to have me, and we kissed." Rhonda responded. Patty breathed a heavy sigh.

"Harold told me about that kiss—he said it was a mistake. It would never happen again." Patty responded, her voice was tense and harsh.

"Well, then a few weeks later we went to a party and we ended up hooking up. He told me it was never going to happen again and it was an accident—then he dropped out and said he was going to get his GED." Rhonda continued to tell her story. "Listen, if you want me to be honest the whole thing just got completely out of hand. I never meant for this to go as far as it did."

Patty was silent, taking in the information she had just received.

"I really am sorry—Patty you're my friend, it's over, you have my word." Rhonda responded, finishing the rest of her drink. Patty debated on what she should do in this situation. In middle school, she would've just punched her in the face and kept it moving. In high school, she would've punched her in the face and then reflected on what she could do better in the future. When she lived on campus, she would have calmly talked things out.

Patty grabbed her club soda and calmly threw it in Rhonda's face.

"What the hell was that!?" Rhonda exclaimed, grabbing linens off the table to dry herself off. Patty started to head towards the door, when she doubled over in pain. Rhonda debated for a moment before deciding to run over to the woman she once called a friend.

"I think my water just broke." Patty admitted.


	7. Chemistry and Timing

Chapter 7 | Chemistry and Timing

Harold was beginning to feel depressed and concerned about his wife. It had been over a week since he saw her at Rhonda's party and although she called him every day like clockwork, their conversations were very short and concise. He even attempted to go visit her at her parents' house but whenever her mother answered the door, she would say that Patty was busy caring for her father and she would contact him when she was ready.

Harold's phone rang loudly and he struggled to reach over and pick it up.

"Hello?" Harold answered.

"Harold. It's me." A female's voice stated on the other end.

"Rhonda, I really can't be doing this. My wife-" Harold started to say before Rhonda interrupted him.

"It's not like that you buffoon. You need to get to Hillwood Memorial Hospital as soon as possible. Patty is in labor!" Rhonda informed him. Harold dropped his phone from shock _. Was it really time already?_ He thought to himself. He thought that he would be prepared for when this moment arrived but suddenly his mind had a lot of questions and very few answers.

" _Where the hell did my shoes go? Where is the baby's bag? Does Patty have her hospital bag? For the love of God where did I put the car seat?_ " Harold's mind raced.

Finally Harold arrived at Hillwood Memorial, very excited and nervous for the birth of his first child and happy to be by his wife's side. When he walked into the room, Patty was already prepped in a hospital gown, in the bed as nurses came in and out of the room to check Patty's vitals and to ensure that she her labor was progressing properly. He leaned in to give his wife a kiss on the forehead but she backed away. He tried to shake the action off as nerves.

"What are you doing here?" Harold harshly whispered to Rhonda.

"Patty and I are friends remember?" Rhonda responded, "Or at least we _were_."

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" Harold asked. Patty attempted to keep her breathing controlled despite the increase in labor pains and contractions as the time passed.

"Please—can we do this later!?" Patty pleaded before howling out in pain, "We have a baby to bring into the world."

After four hours of labor and twenty minutes of pushing, Patty gave birth to a beautiful baby boy. 10 lbs, 2 oz and 25 inches long! A tear fell from Harold's eyes when he held his firstborn son for the very first time. After some bonding time, the nurse came back into the room with a clipboard.

"Congratulations! Have we decided on a name yet?" The nurse asked the new parents.

"Chase Abraham Smith." Patty responded, holding the sleeping baby in her arms. The nurse jotted down the name before leaving the room.

"I thought we had agreed to hyphenate the baby's last name?" Harold responded, "I mean, if the baby is only going to get one of our last names, shouldn't it be our last name?"

"We _were_ going to hyphenate his last name but we had reached that agreement before I saw you having sex with my best friend." Patty responded with the calmest voice she could muster. "Listen, our son was just born. I'm tired and I don't want to argue."

"I don't want to argue either Patty—I'm just—as little taken aback." Harold admitted.

"I just want you to know that I would never keep Chase away from you. You're his father and he's going to need you in his life." Patty stated firmly.

"Keep him away from me? What do you mean? It was a mistake—we can work this out." Harold pleaded but his words fell on deaf ears. He sighed in frustration. "You're confusing me!"

"I'm saying that I want a divorce." Patty responded before turning her attention to her newborn baby. Chase was her number one priority now and she wasn't going to let anyone or anything change that.

* * *

Arnold was seated across the table from Lila Sawyer, her auburn hair was curled into perfect loose ringlets, her emerald green maxi dress was low-cut, revealing a sprinkle of freckles across her chest and her hazel-green eyes were focused intently on him.

"So what made you come back to San Lorenzo, I bet it's ever so beautiful there." Lila asked, reaching across the table and holding the top of Arnold's hand.

"Oh you would love it there Lila, there's nothing like walking out your front door and seeing the sunrise behind an active volcano." Arnold reminisced, "With that being said, I mostly came back for college. Plus, it's very hot and humid in Central America, that's one thing that I won't miss."

"And you didn't leave anyone, how should I say it, special behind?" Lila asked, fluttering her deep hazel-green eyes in Arnold's direction.

"Are you asking if I have a girlfriend?" Arnold laughed, "No. Is there anyone that I should be worried about? There's been a lot of surprises around Hillwood as of late, should I be worried about your roommate?"

Arnold joked raising his eyebrow slightly.

"Oh heavens no!" Lila responded, "I mean, if I'm being perfectly honest with you—I did just get out of a relationship recently."

"Let me guess, my cousin Arnie?" Arnold joked, trying to lighten the mood. Lila let out a polite giggle. "I'm kidding—but seriously, any man would be lucky to have you."

"Oh Arnold, you've always been a perfect gentleman." Lila swooned.

Arnold and Lila walked through the park, their hands intertwined as they allowed the summer breeze to gently caress their faces and the moon and stars to illuminate their walk.

"I had ever so much fun tonight Arnold." Lila stated, fawning over Arnold.

"I had a really great time too Lila." Arnold responded as Lila leaned in for a kiss. Arnold stepped back slightly.

"What's wrong?" Lila questioned.

"I had a really fun time tonight, more fun than I've had in a very long time—I don't want to hurt your feelings but I don't want to lead you on either." Arnold admitted, causing Lila's face to fall.

"I'm ever so certain that this sounds familiar." Lila responded in a sad melodic tone of voice. "I'm just not that 'oh so special someone' you've been looking for, am I?"

"I'm afraid not—I'm _really_ sorry." Arnold responded.

"Don't be sorry." Lila remarked, "If life has taught me anything, it's that you need both chemistry and timing—and since elementary school the two of us just haven't been able to get on the same page with either one." Lila laughed sadly.

Lila shifted uncomfortably side to side before leaning in and giving Arnold a kiss on the cheek. She firmly grasped his forearm.

"Good night, maybe we can have lunch sometime—as friends." Lila quipped, giving him a wistful smile before heading up the stairs of her apartment building.

Once again, Arnold was left alone in the night with his thoughts, and a certain someone just couldn't stop popping into them.

* * *

"Pataki, there will be time for daydreaming when you're running your own publishing company, but right now you're on my clock so I'm going to need for you to step your game up!" Helga's supervisor, Brian Shipley barged into her cubicle and bellowed, "I need those emails responded to by noon. Also, we've got an author coming in to pitch a new book idea and I think it would be an excellent idea for you to be there and take notes. The memo should be on your desk."

"Alright, I've got it Mr. Shipley. Right on it." Helga forced a smile and responded through gritted teeth. She was extremely thankful when lunch time rolled around and she was able to get out of the office for some fresh air. Once outside she pulled her phone out of her purse.

Football Head: Coffee just isn't the same without you. (10:32 am)

Football Head: Can I buy you a cup after work as a peace offering? (10:33 am)

Helga was torn between wanting to stay mad and forgiving him. If she was perfectly honest with herself, she really did miss him a lot the past two days.

Thoughts of Helga kept popping back and forth into Arnold's head. He knew that she was angry, but he was hoping that he would be better to talk things out with her in person. Against his best instincts he texted Helga trying his best to be patient as he waited for a response. Finally he heard a text tone alerting him to a new message.

Helga Pataki: What's in it for me? (12:11 pm)

Football Head: I already told you, coffee. (12:12 pm)

Helga Pataki: Hmmmmm (12:13 pm)

Football Head: I'll throw in a Danish. (12:15 pm)

Helga rolled her eyes as she took another bite of her sandwich before responding again.

Helga Pataki: Fine, I'll meet you after work. 5:45, don't be late bucko. (12:20 pm)

"You know, you asked me to have lunch with you and you're ignoring me—no wonder you're having girl problems." Gerald chuckled at his friend who had been completely enveloped in his phone for the past ten minutes, he'd barely looked up to acknowledge him.

"Sorry, things have been kind of tense between me and Helga but she said agreed to meet me for coffee." Arnold admitted.

"Seriously?" Gerald asked, raising an eyebrow, "You know Helga's got a boyfriend right."

"Gerald, it's not like that." Arnold responded, his voice wavering slightly.

"You're a bold kid Arnold, a bold kid, just don't do anything I wouldn't do." Gerald offered as a piece of advice.

Helga walked into the coffee shop at 6:00 pm, practically running from her office to the coffee shop. When she walked through the door, she half expected Arnold to have left in frustration already. The small café was surprisingly packed for a Monday evening. She looked around the tables and didn't see Arnold at first glance. Finally, she spotted him sitting comfortably on the couch near the back window—two drinks in front of him.

"I'm sorry that I'm late—my meeting ran long!" Helga responded breathlessly, her long blonde hair was slightly disheveled and she was carrying her heels in her hands.

"Don't apologize, it's alright." Arnold reassured her. "I ordered your coffee already, medium white mocha with a pump of raspberry, extra whipped cream?"

Helga was taken aback at the fact that he memorized her drink order.

"Yeah, yeah—thanks, I guess." Helga responded, trying to carry on the facade of being angry. "So, what, Lila doesn't like coffee or something?"

"Helga—can we not do this?" Arnold asked, "We're adults, can we act like it?"

Helga rolled her eyes and took a sip of her coffee, there was a short lull of silence.

"I just wanted to know how your date with Lila went, I mean—we're friends aren't we? That's what friends are supposed to do." Helga remarked with a hint of bitterness in her voice.

"Lila and I have a lot in common but both the timing and the chemistry is off." Arnold stated honestly, looking into Helga's bright blue eyes.

"Alright and what's that supposed to mean?" Helga responded.

"Just that sometimes the chemistry can be right—but the timing can be all wrong." Arnold calmly remarked shooting a glare towards Helga before taking a sip of coffee.

"Oh, you mean like if someone pours out their ten year old heart, guts and soul and confesses their true feelings just to have them wave it off as it being in the heat of the moment?" Helga responded sarcastically.

"No, I mean more like when someone comes all the way to San Lorenzo with you to find your parents and you kiss them but you can't quite put into words how you feel because—hey, you're eleven, and they decide that they don't want to hear it anymore." Arnold remarked bitterly. Helga placed her coffee cup on the coffee table directly in front of their couch and looked Arnold dead in his green eyes.

"Or perhaps, just maybe you mean like when the boy you really kisses you in the middle of a foreign land and tells you, yeah he likes you—but oh yeah, he's staying there and doesn't know when he'll be back." Helga angrily replied. Arnold leaned in towards Helga, he was close enough that he could catch a whiff of her coconut shampoo.

"I'm pretty sure I mean that when you're finally starting to get along and have some semblance of a 'relationship' they just stop writing you out of the blue." Arnold snapped. Helga opened her mouth to respond but Arnold continued to speak before she had the chance to.

"I can't do this anymore." Arnold whispered, their faces were nearly nose to nose, he reached out his hand and pulled her close. His lips pursed, he leaned in to kiss Helga but she moved away slowly.

"I—I have a boyfriend." Helga struggled to get the words out. Arnold sighed heavily throwing his body against the back of the couch placing his hands on his face.

"See what I mean—chemistry but the timing fucking sucks." Arnold responded.


	8. Damn Good Friends

Chapter 8 | Damn Good Friends

"I'm ever so happy you were able to have lunch with me today!" Lila exclaimed as she stood up from her table to hug her friend Nadine. "I know you've been very busy this summer."

It was true, it was only a month and a half after graduation and Nadine and Vincent (formerly known as Peapod Kid) had amassed quite a following on their Instagram accounts where they posted photos of their travels. Since graduation they've already been to Bora Bora, Hawaii, Paris and Jamaica. She had barely seen her friend all summer, which was probably for the best considering she still held a close friendship with Rhonda.

"Yeah, Vin and I just got back into town Sunday night. It's been an amazing summer so far. Although, I was a little disappointed, Bora Bora is beautiful but how do you have an island with absolutely no insects!?" Nadine exclaimed, with an appalled look on her face. "Hawaii, on the other hand, had the most magnificent Golden Tortoise Beetle—absolutely beautiful, I have pictures on my Facebook of them!" Nadine excitedly remarked.

"Enough about me though, I saw that you went on a date with Arnold the other night, how did that go?" Nadine prodded. Lila tried to maintain the smile on her face.

"I was ever so certain that our date was going well but I think Arnold has his eyes on someone else." Lila pondered.

"Well, he's missing out. You're quite the catch." Nadine responded in an attempt to cheer up her friend, which her compliment did bring a temporary smile to her face. "So, what else have you been up to lately?"

"Well, you know Patty had her baby. He's ever so adorable." Lila responded, "I'm just trying to be as good of a friend as possible to her—given the circumstances." Lila raised her eyebrow at Nadine, causing Nadine to move uncomfortably in her seat.

"I don't want to get in the middle of whatever is going on between you and Rhonda _or_ what's going on between Rhonda and Patty." Nadine firmly remarked.

"I know, I know." Lila replied, "It's just, you're so nice Nadine. How can you call someone like that your best friend?"

"I know what she did to you was wrong. What she did to Patty was exceptionally heinous. I know that she's got a lot of deep-seated issues. Her life isn't as perfect as she tries to make it come across." Nadine rattled off reasoning for her best friend's behavior. She had been making excuses for her for as long as she could remember, she was tired of it but the words flowed like water through her lips. "Anyway, I've got to go—please give Patty my best regards." Nadine responded before grabbing her purse and heading out of the door.

Lila sat back in her seat and wondered about how she could have handled the situation differently. She looked off into the distance and saw a familiar head of bright red hair.

 _I didn't know Eugene was going to be here today_. Lila thought to herself, she was about to head over and approach him when a tall handsome man walked over to Eugene's table. Lila wondered who the man was assuming that it was a meeting of some sort, until Eugene stood up and kissed him affectionately on the lips.

* * *

"Got a lot on your mind son?" Miles asked as he pulled up a seat next to his son at the boarding house kitchen table.

"Is it that obvious?" Arnold asked.

"I think it was the fact that you poured orange juice into your cereal that gave it away." Miles chuckled, "What's on your mind?"

"Girl troubles got you down Shortman?" Phil asked as he entered the kitchen in a bathrobe. Miles and Arnold both nodded their heads yes.

"Let me guess, it's your little friend with the one eyebrow again?" Phil asked shooting a knowing glance to Arnold as he took a seat across from his son and grandson.

"Yes—well, no. Not exactly." Arnold responded, "Let's just say she's gotten rid of the one eyebrow look."

"Yes, but one eyebrow or two, she's still the one causing you problems eh Shortman?" Phil asked.

"Sounds like you and this girl have a lot of history. Is that right son?" Miles remarked before Arnold had an opportunity to respond.

"Dad, Grandpa—I don't really know what to do. I even tried to kiss her last night and I know she's got a boyfriend. What am I doing?" Arnold dropped his face into his arms that were propped up onto the kitchen table. Miles rubbed his back and looked over at his father.

"Arnold, I remember when Pookie and I were about your age. We were pretty good friends but I wanted to be more than that but she had some boyfriend. Fred Thompson. Nice fellow but they were not a good match. So, you know what I did?" Phil asked.

"What did you do grandpa?" Arnold asked, slightly worried about the answer.

"I got so frustrated and tired of waiting around waiting for my chance, so I went to talk to him one day and I just punched him." Phil responded. Arnold and Miles gasped at the response.

"Dad!?" Miles exclaimed.

"I didn't say what I did was the right thing to do. Oh, definitely not the right thing to do. You just need to play it cool. She'll figure out soon enough that this guy isn't right for her." Phil remarked.

"So you're saying just do nothing." Arnold asked.

"Exactly." Phil responded giving the thumbs up to his grandson from across the table.

"That's terrible advice grandpa." Arnold laughed.

"Well, I'm not a matchmaker, I run a boarding house—but it made you laugh and took your mind off things for a few minutes." Phil joked nudging his grandson lightly.

"Thanks grandpa." Arnold genuinely responded, "I guess this is something I'll just have to wait and see what happens."

* * *

Patty didn't want to move back into her old apartment that she shared with her husband but once baby Chase was born—it was the best option she had. However, she moved back in under the conditions that she was moving in temporarily until she could secure her own place for herself and the baby.

Harold on the other hand saw this as an opportunity to potentially win his wife back. Since she had returned from the hospital, he cooked breakfast every morning and brought home flowers and takeout every evening. He also volunteered to take care of the baby so she could have some time to herself throughout the day. He was attempting to be the perfect husband.

"Good morning sweetheart." Harold sang as he walked into the bedroom that him and his wife used to share. He missed sleeping on a King sized mattress but if sleeping on the living room couch could save his marriage, he was willing to do it for as long as it took.

"Please don't call me that." Patty sneered, sitting up sleepily on the bed. She rubbed her eyes and saw Harold in the door frame of the bedroom, holding a tray of breakfast items.

"I, uh, I brought breakfast." Harold remarked.

"I'm not hungry." Patty responded.

"Honey, I'm really trying." Harold pleaded, "We could talk to someone—I think we could work things out."

"If we're going to have the same conversation every day, I can just go back to my parents." Patty quipped. Harold's face fell. "I'm not trying to hurt your feelings or anything but I'm not here to work things out. I'm here because we already had Chase's nursery set up here and until I find a place of my own, this is the best place for us."

The room was silent until small cries started coming from Chase. Patty started to get up but Harold waved her off.

"I've got him. You just relax and eat your breakfast." Harold stated as he turned around and headed to the nursery. He picked up Chase and rocked him back and forth. He looked down at his first born son, who looked back at him with brown eyes and a cute button nose. Harold's eyes began to well up a little at the thought of not living with his wife and his son, if only he could take back all of the mistakes he made. A tear fell from Harold's eye and he wiped it slightly. He kissed his son who had calmed down—he had to stay focused. Patty was the love of his life, she had to take him back… she just had to.

* * *

Stinky leaned in and gave his girlfriend a firm kiss on the lips.

"I got you these flowers, they sure are pretty aren't they?" Stinky asked, handing the flowers to his girlfriend before helping her into his pickup truck. Helga took a long sniff of the beautiful dozen pink roses she was holding before climbing into the truck.

"They're absolutely beautiful Stinky." Helga smiled as she watched her boyfriend climb into the passenger seat.

"Not as beautiful as you though, I reckon." Stinky returned the smile before heading off down the road in his green pickup truck.

"So, Mr. Peterson, where did you say we were heading on our date today?" Helga questioned. They had been driving for nearly 20 minutes but the smile on her face hadn't left since Stinky picked her up from her house.

"I told you darling it's supposed to be a surprise." Stinky chuckled. Helga loved surprises in theory. In actuality she hated the suspense, she was definitely the type of woman who wanted to be in charge of a situation at all times.

"Come onnnn!" Helga whined through a small giggle. She shot Stinky her best wide-eyed puppy dog face.

"Oh no, you're not getting me this time Miss Pataki, you're going to have to hold your horses and wait and see." Stinky insisted.

Helga gasped in amazement when they arrived at their destination. It was a large, lush green hill that overlooked a crystal clear lake. There were several large, succulent trees that lent themselves to several spots of shade. Underneath of one of the larger trees, Stinky had begun to set up a large blanket.

"I'm no Gordon Ramsey—but I think I put together a pretty nice spread for us." Stinky quipped as he began to pull items out of the picnic basket he'd brought along.

"How on earth did you ever find this place?" Helga asked. Hillwood was a large city but it was not known for it's beautiful natural scenery. Somehow, her boyfriend seemed to know all of the natural, nature spots in Hillwood that haven't been bulldozed over to make way for a housing development or strip mall.

"I have my ways Miss Pataki, don't you worry about that." Stinky responded with a bright smile as he reached across the blanket and ran his fingers through Helga's blonde hair before leaning in for a kiss. Helga leaned back slightly as she felt Stinky's lips gently brush against hers. She grabbed the back of his head and opened her lips inviting his tongue into his mouth. The kiss lasted a few moments until she thought back to several days ago when Arnold attempted to kiss her. She pushed Stinky away slightly, breaking the kiss they shared.

"Is everything alright?" Stinky asked.

"Um—yeah. Well-" Helga started to say chuckling nervously. She could feel her hands begin to clam up. "I think there is something I should tell you."

* * *

 **AN** : Just wanted to tell you guys thank you for reading this story so far! I have been appreciating all of the wonderful feedback that you have left and I always personally respond to them! This chapter was _not_ one of my favorites because it's coming off of the heated conversation with Helga and Arnold last chapter. Just because you didn't see them in this chapter doesn't mean their issues are resolved. Trust me, it only gets better. :) - BuzzLightyearr


	9. I Don't Want To Let You Go

Chapter 9 | I Don't Want to Let You Go

Despite moving to Hillwood when he was three years old, he just couldn't shake his country mannerisms. He always held the door open for others, he constantly said please and thank you. He was the only non-military member he'd come across in his city to regularly call people 'sir' or 'ma'am'. He knew that he had a very trusting nature. He also knew he didn't always pick up the vibes that were going around the room.

However, despite all those things working against him, he couldn't shake the feeling that something was off with his girlfriend. What's worse, is he couldn't help but to notice these worries didn't come into play until Arnold Shortman came back into Hillwood.

"I think there is something I should tell you." Helga remarked nervously. Her heart rate began to increase and she could feel her breath getting short.

"Is everything alright, my pet?" Stinky asked, placing a hand on her shoulder. His brain racking through all the possibilities of what she needed to say. Helga took a deep breath in an attempt to calm her nerves.

"So, the other day I was having coffee with- " Helga began her story, her voice faltering slightly. She trailed off thinking carefully about her next words. "—with a friend."

Stinky could feel his heart begin to race and he had an uneasy feeling in the pit of his stomach. He cleared his throat.

"Um—who was the friend?" Stinky asked, fearing that he already knew the answer. Helga sighed.

"Arnold." She responded. The pair sat in silence for a moment. The only sound that could be heard was a few bees buzzing around a flower several feet away from them.

"Do—you have feelings for Arnold?" Stinky questioned, the words came out of his mouth forming more of a statement than a question. Helga was silent. A sad look crossed over her blue eyes. "Helga?"

"I don't know." Helga blurted out. "I mean—yes I do, but I love you Stinky, I really do."

"I reckon, I love you too." Stinky responded, Helga's eyes began to well up with tears—Stinky pulled her closer to him and gave her a gentle kiss on the lips. Stinky looked into her eyes and wiped a tear from her cheek before releasing a long, heavy sigh he didn't realize he was holding.

"You know, I would do anything to make you happy. I think you should take some time to figure out how you feel about me—and _him_. I love you and I'll always wonder in the back of my mind if I was just a second choice." Stinky uttered. Helga wrinkled her brows slightly in confusion.

"Are you breaking up with me?" Helga questioned.

"I wouldn't say that—I mean, if you love something let it go, right?" Stinky declared, "I mean, I really love you Helga—maybe we'll find each other again when the timing is right."

The words sent her back to a few days ago, she couldn't keep her mind off of what Arnold said to her back in the coffee shop. The phrase kept playing itself over and over in her mind. ' _See, we have great chemistry, but the timing sucks_ '

"Yeah." Helga responded to no one in particular. She wrapped her arms around Stinky and gave him a sweet kiss, they headed back to the car hand in hand but rode back to the city in silence.

* * *

"Okay, which outfit do you like better?" Eugene asked as he walked into the living room holding two outfits on separate hangers: a blue sport coat with a white t-shirt and khaki shorts in one hand and a grey polo shirt and salmon shorts in the other hand.

"Going on a date?" Lila asked, as she pointed towards the polo shirt and short outfit.

"I guess you could say that." Eugene responded.

"Anyone that I know?" Lila questioned.

"I doubt it." Eugene sharply remarked.

"How long have you been dating?" Lila quizzed.

"A few weeks now." Eugene responded looking irritated.

"Well—what's their name?" Lila asked.

"What is with the interrogation?" Eugene demanded to know, dramatically throwing his hands into the air, barely holding onto the hangers he was still holding on to.

"I'm just ever so surprised that you're dating someone and you can't even tell your best friend and roommate about it. I just was ever so certain that if you were dating someone that you'd let me know—but I guess not." Lila laid on her sweetest, most innocent tone of voice.

"Fine—Carol." Eugene responded harshly.

"Really, because I saw you on a date at the coffee shop with a really attractive date. He didn't look like a Carol though." Lila stood up and looked Eugene in his light brown eyes.

"I don't know what you're talking about." Eugene responded with an uneasy tone of voice. He could feel a lump forming in his throat and his stomach begin to flutter a bit.

"Eugene—I know that you've been seeing someone. Someone tall, handsome, and blonde. Does he have a single brother?" Lila asked.

"It was supposed to be a secret." Eugene stated with an upset tone, "You can't tell anyone about this." Eugene tossed his outfits on the recliner and then dropped down onto the coach, covering his face with his hands.

"Eugene, this is nothing to be ashamed of. Does anyone know that you're gay?" Lila asked, taking a seat next to her best friend.

"No! Do you know what people would do if they found out!?" Eugene questioned with a marked look of fear in his eyes. Lila moved in closer to him on the couch.

"Listen to me, your family and friends are going to love you regardless of your sexuality." Lila spoke in her most comforting tone, rubbing Eugene's back gently.

"I don't know—I don't think it's that easy. Remember when Mr. Simmons confirmed that he was gay. There were parents that were attempting to pull their children out of his classroom, just because of who he is. I don't want anyone judging me." Eugene admitted.

"Pardon my language, but those people are idiots." Lila said bluntly. "Eugene, who you're attracted to isn't something that needs to be hidden. Although, I realize coming out of the closet is a huge step. So if you're not ready to come out, then I'm ever so certain I understand."

"So—you'll keep my secret" Eugene asked, leaning in to give his best friend a hug. Lila placed her hands on his shoulders before he could wrap his arms around her.

"Wait, wait—I can keep your secret on one condition." Lila responded.

"Name it." Eugene stated.

"Details!" Lila giggled as they wrapped their arms around each other in a caring embrace. "Let's start with that brother I mentioned earlier."

* * *

"Well, it's official—you're now the owner of Green Meats!" Mr. Green said as he reached out to shake Harold's hand before handing him a stack of paperwork sealing the deal.

"Wow, who would have thought I'd own my own store!?" Harold exclaimed. He left the store on a high, excited to get home and tell the news to Patty and Chase. Although Chase was only two weeks old and couldn't understand what he was talking about, he still enjoyed coming home and telling the infant about his day.

"Patty! Guess what happened today?" Harold asked as he opened the door to the apartment they shared.

"What happened Harold?" Patty asked as she was sitting on the couch breastfeeding baby Chase.

"You're looking at the official owner of Green Meats!" Harold declared. Patty let out an excited gasp.

"Congratulations, that's really exciting!" Patty congratulated her husband on his accomplishment, "You should be very proud of yourself, there aren't many 20 year olds that own their own business."

"Yes, all of that scrimping, saving, and hard work throughout high school really paid off. I put my blood, sweat and tears into that place—and now it's all mine!" Harold remarked excitedly, "Patty—you're not going to have to worry about a thing! Our family is going to be set from here on out."

"What do you mean?" Patty asked, raising an eyebrow.

"You're still my wife. I understand the significance of what I did—but all I want is for you and Chase to be happy. I know things will take time but I believe in the love we have." Harold confessed.

"Harold—I don't want to give you any false hope. I don't want to get back together. You have been extremely helpful since Chase and I came home from the hospital and I appreciate you have done for us." Patty started to state, "But as soon as I'm cleared for work, I'm finding a job and Chase and I will be moving into our own place."

"How are you going to work, go to school _and_ take care of Chase?" Harold placed his hand on his hip and asked matter-of-factly.

"I will have to figure it out. I won't be the first single mother who has had to juggle multiple things to succeed and I won't be the last." Patty responded as she attempted to coax a burp out of the baby.

"I really don't want you to have to do all of that." Harold remarked.

"Harold, it's decided. It's got to get done, so I'm going to do it." Patty sharply stated.

Harold thought about all the things Patty has sacrificed to be with him. She gave up her athletic scholarship at Washington State to marry Harold. She was forced to lower her course load and take classes online when she became pregnant with Chase. She encouraged them to put their savings into purchasing Green Meats. Harold shook his head at himself.

"Patty—I can't let you make any more sacrifices for my benefit." Harold began to state. "Green Meats was purchased with our money, therefore half of the profits belong to you. I don't want you to have to work to afford a tiny apartment for you and Chase when this is your home."

Patty opened her mouth to interrupt but Harold continued to talk.

"I'm going to start looking for an apartment, I want you and Chase to live here. So, Monday morning—I'll call up my lawyer and see what I need to do to have your name on the business as a partner."

"You really don't have to do that." Patty responded.

"I know. I want to—it's the least I can do for you after all you've done for me the past few years." Harold remarked, looking Patty in her green eyes that were beginning to well up. "I just am sorry I didn't realize what I had earlier."

* * *

It had been a few days since her breakup with Stinky. It was amicable, but left her with a strange feeling. She expected to be sad but all she kept thinking about was the look on Arnold's face when they argued over coffee, how handsome he looked when he leaned in for a kiss, and the frustration on his face when she stopped him.

She hopped out of her bed and tossed on a pink top and a pair of black leggings and raced for the door. Before she knew it she was in front of his house. She started to knock on the door but she didn't know how he would react. She paced outside of his front steps for five minutes before pulling her phone out of the small cross body bag she brought with her and fired off a quick text.

Arnold was sitting in his bedroom so immersed in his video game when he was surprised by the sound of his phone vibrating and ringing. He was shocked to see that it was a text message from Helga.

Helga Pataki: I'm at your house, come outside. [12:38 am]

Helga waited patiently for a response to her text, but instead the door of the boarding house swung open, revealing Arnold wearing a white t-shirt and a pair of plaid pajama pants.

"Helga, what are you doing here? It's nearly one o'clock in the morning!" Arnold whispered harshly as he opened the door and allowed Helga into the foyer of the house.

"Oh, I'm sorry—did I wake you or something?" Helga questioned. "Bad timing, perhaps?" She remarked in a mocking tone.

Arnold rolled his eyes, confused at where this conversation was going or the reasoning behind Helga showing up on his doorstep. Arnold's heart was racing, Helga's was too.

"So, football head, do you really think we have chemistry." Helga asked with a sultry tone.

"Yeah- I mean-" Arnold stammered as he began to responded, when Helga grabbed the collar of his white t-shirt and pulled Arnold in for a deep kiss. Arnold broke the kiss after a moment. Struggling to regain his composure.

"I—uh—boyfriend?" Arnold knew what he was trying to ask but was having trouble finding the words. Helga shook her head side to side and indicated no.

"Single." Helga smirked and the moment the word left her lips Arnold gave a sexy grin and grabbed the sides of her face and pulled Helga in for an eagerly, impassioned kiss. Arnold's lips left hers for a moment to nibble her ear and Helga heard him whisper something slightly to her. She looked at him with a sly smile and nodded her head yes—before they headed to Arnold's bedroom.


	10. Blurred Lines

Chapter 10 | Blurred Lines

Arnold woke up with the sun beaming brightly through the skylight, with his arms wrapped around a sleeping Helga Pataki who was wearing nothing but a pink thong and the white t-shirt he was wearing the night before. He couldn't help but to smile at the sight. He went downstairs to quietly make some coffee before anyone else woke up.

"Long night son?" Miles chuckled, causing Arnold to jump a little. He turned around to see his 6'2" father standing behind him.

"I don't know what you're talking about." Arnold shook his head and blushed.

"Well you're so tired that you need _two_ cups of coffee this morning." Miles shot him a knowing glance, before grabbing a granola bar from one of the cabinets above his head.

"You don't have to say anything." Miles chuckled to himself, "Just remember, your mother is much more prying than I am." With that statement Miles disappeared from the kitchen.

Arnold headed back to his room and Helga was sitting up on the bed, her hair was wild and disheveled and the look on her face indicated that she was definitely not a morning person.

"Good morning sunshine." Arnold smiled.

"Good morning, football head." Helga smirked, Arnold leaned in and gave her a kiss before handing her a cup of coffee. The pair sat in silence for a few minutes, neither of them wanting to acknowledge the events from the previous night, but yet neither one could wipe the smirk of their faces. They were both slightly startled when Helga's phone broke the silence.

"Hiya Pheebs." Helga spoke into the phone.

"Hey Helga. I'm so sorry, I'm running a little late today—but I'll be at your house at 10:00." Helga looked down at the time on her phone, 9:30.

"Criminy, I totally forgot. I'm going to head home now and get ready. I'm sorry!" Helga exclaimed into the phone.

"Head home? Where are you?" Phoebe interrogated.

"I'll explain later." Helga responded before abruptly hanging up the phone. Arnold was looking on intently and curiously. He raised his eyebrows as if to ask what was going on.

"Arnold, I'm _so_ sorry." She said, spitting out the words as she searched for her pants. "I forgot that I was supposed to be meeting up with Phoebe today. Girl stuff. You understand."

Before Arnold could respond, she laid a kiss on his lips and headed out the door. Arnold rolled his eyes and started to get up from the bed before the door reopened.

"Um—do you maybe want to—get together later." Helga stumbled over her words.

"I'll meet you at your house at nine, we'll do dinner." Arnold smiled and Helga returned the smile before shutting the door again and rushing down the stairs.

* * *

"Phoebe, why are you staring at me like that?" Helga questioned raising an eyebrow at her best friend. Phoebe tucked a piece of her black hair behind her left ear and stared intently at her best friend.

"I'm just wondering where you were last night." Phoebe tried to say nonchalantly but instead it came out concerned. Helga pondered on what exactly she was going to say. " _Well_?"

"Hold your horses Pheebs. If I tell you, you have to promise not to freak out." Helga demanded. Phoebe looked over at Helga who was trying desperately to contain her smile, but it was plastered all over her face.

"I don't know if I can keep that promise— _but_ I promise to try." Phoebe responded eagerly. Helga rolled her eyes and let out a small giggle.

"If you must know—I was at Arnold's last night." Helga answered, causing Phoebe's eyes to widen in surprise.

"You were at Arnold's house?" Phoebe asked, trying to comprehend exactly what her best friend was trying to tell her. "You were there—all night?"

"Yes, Phoebe! I spent the night there, are you happy?" Helga giggled.

"So does that mean that you and Arnold—um, how should I say, _went all the way_?" Phoebe asked, blushing slightly. Helga was always surprised that her best friend lost her virginity years ago but still found it extremely uncomfortable to talk about sex.

"Criminy Phoebe, what do you take me for? Stinky and I just broke up a few days ago. How easy do you think I am!?" Helga exclaimed, throwing her arms dramatically in the air.

"Well, I know that you and Arnold have had strong feelings for each other for quite some time. If you chose to display your love for each other in that manner, I wouldn't be one to judge." Phoebe responded seriously.

"No worries, you'll no doubt be the first to know when I finally take that step." Helga responded giving her friend a playful nudge.

"Alright, so you were at Arnold's all night—does this mean that you're dating?" Phoebe asked curiously. Phoebe had a long held belief that Arnold and Helga were meant to be together; but she soon realized that Helga Pataki was very stubborn and Arnold Shortman was very dense. Still, her hope never faltered.

"That's the problem. Phoebe, you know that I've been waiting on something like this to happen for so long. I'm just afraid that I'm going to screw it up somehow." Helga confessed.

"Oh Helga. I know that you have very strong feelings for Arnold and I know that he reciprocates those feelings for you. Just be you and nothing can go wrong." Phoebe offered as advice.

* * *

"Nadine, come on—you're hardly ever home and now you're ditching me to spend time with Peapod Kid?" Rhonda pleaded, as she stood in front of the oversized mirror in her bedroom, trying to choose between two outfits.

"His name is Vincent and he's my boyfriend. Why wouldn't I want to spend time with him?" Nadine stated matter-of-factly. "Besides, all we've done the past two days is binge watch Netflix. Don't get me wrong it's been fun but I need to get out of this house!"

" _Fine_ —leave me in my time of need." Rhonda remarked, folding her arms in front of her chest. "I thought we were _best_ friends."

"Rhonda, we're not in elementary school anymore. Your little guilt trip isn't going to work on me. If you're so desperate to go out, call one of your other friends." Nadine offered as an alternative, causing Rhonda to sigh in an exaggerated fashion before she threw herself onto her lush king sized bed.

"None of the other girls have been returning my calls." Rhonda admitted. "Why don't you just ask Vincent to come over here and we'll make it a threesome?"

Nadine's hazel eyes swelled up and enlarged to the size of saucers, her mouth gaped open and a loud gasp hit Rhonda's ears. Rhonda blushed slightly and realized her misspoken words.

"Nadine, you know what I meant." Rhonda remarked.

"You must be out of your mind if you think I would ever bring Vincent into this house. There's a reason why I haven't been here for the majority of the summer and there's a reason why none of the girls will accept your phone calls." Nadine snapped at her best friend, "You need to take a long hard look at yourself and then you'll realize why everyone has had it with your bullshit."

"Nadine Olivia Taylor— so help me, if you walk out of that door-." Rhonda demanded in the most powerful voice she could muster before her thoughts trailed off.

"Just add me to the long list of people you need to apologize to." Nadine responded, before leaving Rhonda's bedroom. Rhonda threw her face into her hands feeling more defeated than she ever had before. _Lloyd's don't cry, pull yourself together_. Rhonda told herself, before resuming her outfit selection. Where she was going, she still had no idea.

* * *

Arnold's palms were starting to clam up and his heart was pounding so hard he thought that it would escape his chest at any moment now and he wouldn't blame it for running away.

"Arnold huh?" Big Bob Pataki bellowed, releasing Arnold's hand from the handshake he'd forced him into.

"Yes, sir. Arnold Shortman."

"You look familiar, do I know you?" Bob raised an eyebrow, sizing the young man up.

"Dad—leave him alone." Helga demanded as she descended the stairs.

"Alright, alright—have a good time tonight. Don't stay out too long—you know your mother and I worry." Bob remarked, pulling Helga in for a hug and a kiss on the cheek.

"Dad, I'm eighteen years old—I can take care of myself." Helga remarked, before grabbing Arnold's hand and leading him out of the brownstone.

"I'm so sorry about that." Helga responded once they were outside.

"Your family has changed a lot since I've last seen them." Arnold remarked, causing Helga to blush slightly.

"They were embarrassing before—now they're embarrassing for an entirely different reason." Helga joked.

"Arnold, I love this place! How did you know?" Helga exclaimed as they walked through the entrance of the upscale sushi bar. Arnold smiled, he'd spent the morning on the phone with his best friend Gerald—drilling him for information on how to make his first date with Helga absolutely perfect.

"I had a little help." Arnold admitted. He pulled out Helga's chair before taking a seat across from her, the lights were dimmed slightly but he had the perfect view of Helga over the romantic candlelight. They chatted for a bit about television shows, movies, and music—dancing around any serious topics.

"So, what brought you to my house last night?" Arnold asked nervously approaching the elephant in the room. Helga shifted uncomfortably in her seat and chose her words carefully before responding.

"I don't know—something about _timing_ I guess." Helga said flippantly with a hint of sarcasm as she flicked her wrist in the air. Arnold sat back in his seat and rolled his eyes.

" _Helga_." Arnold said sternly, shaking his head slightly. "I think there's a few things we should talk about, if we're going to have any chance of this working out."

"Right." Helga responded, " _Sooooooo_ did you kick Lila to the curb or is that something that's going to creep back up?"

Arnold sighed in frustration.

"Lila and I were never a _thing_." Arnold deadpanned, "You and Stinky on the other hand-"

"Oh here we go!" Helga exclaimed, exasperated. "Stinky and I are over, finished, finite."

"Okay." Arnold responded.

"Okay." Helga stated.

"So—why did you stop writing me?" Arnold asked unrelentingly.

"Criminy football head! If I knew you were going to interrogate me throughout the dinner, I would've never asked you to hangout tonight." Helga hissed in Arnold's direction, crossing her hands across the front of her body. Arnold let out a long sigh.

"I'm sorry." Arnold murmured, "If I'm completely honest—I've just never had so many emotions for _someone_ before."

"You!? How do you think I feel, I had a freaking shrin—erm I mean, uh this wine is making me a little hot under the collar." Helga blushed, tugging at her collar.

"We're not having wine." Arnold observed.

"I know we're not having wine football head!" Helga blurted out, the outburst causing both Helga and Arnold to laugh at the fact that they were having another argument about nothing.

"I'm not trying to be difficult. I just- I really have a lot of feelings for you too. It's hard for me to put myself out there because I'm so afraid of messing things up." Helga confessed.

"Well, I'm willing to give this a chance if you are." Arnold declared, looking into Helga's eyes. "Helga, will you make this official and be my girlfriend?"


	11. Don't Think Twice

Chapter Eleven | Don't Think Twice

* * *

"You asked Helga G. Pataki to be your girlfriend on your first official date? Bold move Arnold, really bold move." Gerald said, speaking to his best friend while attempting to pack his suitcase. Phoebe asked Gerald to accompany her to her favorite cousin's wedding. He had mixed feelings about meeting Phoebe's extended family for the first time but he was excited to get away from Hillwood for a few days.

"I mean, I like her—a lot, might I add. Why risk letting her get away?" Arnold questioned, sitting on the small gamer chair in the corner of Gerald's bedroom.

"Well—what did she say?" Gerald asked. Arnold thought back to a few nights ago.

 _Arnold could feel his heart beating so fast, it felt as though it could jump out and run across the table at any moment. He looked into Helga's eyes but he couldn't really read what her face was thinking. Time was moving slower than ever before, seconds seemed to take hours to get through and the silence was beginning to make him uncomfortable._

 _"Of course I want to be your girlfriend Arnold!" Helga responded, she could feel tears of happiness starting to form behind her eyes. "I mean, as long as you don't think it's too soon. I don't want to rush into anything."_

"My man!" Gerald responded, holding out his fist and sharing his signature handshake with Arnold. "So, I have to be real with you though—don't you think you're moving a little too fast?"

"Like I said, I don't want to risk losing her again. You've seen Helga—she's intelligent, funny and when I'm around her there's just so much fire, I can't even describe it." Arnold reasoned.

"Alright, well as long as you're happy—when we get back, we can have a double date to celebrate." Gerald offered, "I know that Phoebe- "

Gerald's conversation was cut short when suddenly his door quickly swung open.

"Gerald—it's five o' clock in the afternoon in the middle of summer. Does this light really need to be on? They don't call it daylight savings time so we could waste electricity all willy nilly!" Martin Johannsen ranted, turning off the bedroom light before shutting the door.

"Did I mention—I really need a vacation?" Gerald groaned.

* * *

Phoebe and Gerald loaded their suitcases in her blue Toyota Prius and headed to the Seattle airport. Her favorite cousin, Megan Brown, was getting married to her childhood sweetheart Thomas Williams. Her mother, Reba, insisted on arriving in Kentucky several days before the wedding as Reba's sister Debbie was stressed out about her youngest daughter getting married—and of course Kyo followed behind her.

"Are you excited?" Phoebe asked once they were on the plane, her brown eyes were bright and wide with anticipation. Gerald thought pensively for a moment, choosing his words carefully.

"I'm excited." Gerald settled on the simple response. Phoebe placed her hand over Gerald's.

"You seem hesitant." Phoebe observed.

"I'm just worried about what your family is going to think of me—of _us_." Gerald admitted. Phoebe understood his worry. She'd told Gerald many stories about how long it took for her mother's side of the family to accept her father. Phoebe rested her head on Gerald's shoulder and gently his hand. She didn't say anything—but Gerald was immediately comforted.

Once they arrived in Louisville, Phoebe's father Kyo picked them up from the airport. Her Aunt Debbie insisted that Phoebe and Gerald stay at her house but Phoebe told them that she would feel more comfortable in a hotel room.

"I know that you two are probably exhausted from the flight—but the rehearsal dinner is at 8:00, I'll be back to pick you up at 7:30." Kyo commanded as he dropped the couple off at their hotel room.

Once they were checked in they went up to their hotel room, opening the door to reveal a beautiful view of the city and a plush king sized bed. Phoebe, the organized woman that she was, insisted on unpacking her suitcase. She claimed that it made the cold hotel room feel more like home. Gerald was more of the type to live out of his suitcase for the three days that he was in town. Gerald looked at the clock next to the nightstand, 3:30.

Phoebe was standing at her suitcase, carefully unpacking her clothes and toiletries. He walked up to her and wrapped his arms around his petite girlfriend and kissed her neck. Phoebe turned around to face him and Gerald placed an eager kiss upon her lips, their bodies fell onto the king sized bed, their clothing quickly disappearing with each passing minute.

* * *

Harold had been apartment hunting but nothing seemed right. The apartments he found were either affordable but in a horrible area or in a great area but terribly expensive. One of his employees told him about an apartment that had just opened up about a block from Green Meats, he was crossing his fingers hoping that this apartment could be the one to get him into his own place and out of Patty's hair.

"Well as you can see this apartment has a master bedroom and a smaller room that can be used as an office or a second bedroom." The realtor remarked, standing in the living room of the empty apartment. Harold looked around the apartment. He tried to picture how it would look after he moved in. He remembered when Harold and Patty moved into their townhouse—how carefully she selected the items that she placed in the house to make it a home. He couldn't help but to think of how different this move was going to be. He would miss the personal touches that Patty integrated into their home, most importantly he would miss coming home to Patty and Chase every night—but all he could do at this point was move forward.

"I'll take it." Harold said.

* * *

Rhonda rolled over to check the time on her phone. 12:30 pm. She noticed a figure in the bed next to her. She had vague memories of meeting someone the night before and inviting him back to her house. Her memories of the previous night were very limited, she did remember having more than her fair share of martinis, vodka shots and light beer.

She got out of her bed, throwing a monogrammed red silk robe over her body and quickly brushed the sickening mixture of alcohol and morning breath out of her mouth. She went back into her bedroom and gently nudged the stranger who was sleeping peacefully in her bed. He barely budged. She rolled her eyes in frustration and aggressively shook him before he finally arose from his slumber. His short brown hair was going in various directions on top of his head, he looked at Rhonda through squinted eyes, his golden brown eyes struggling to focus on what was going on.

Rhonda looked down at the young man, he was muscular and definitely had a cute face. _I've woken up to worse_ , Rhonda thought to herself.

"What's going on babe?" The man asked, propping himself up on his elbows. Rhonda reached down on the floor and threw his clothes at his chest.

"I'm not your _babe_ and it's time for you to leave Jack!" Rhonda exclaimed, pointing in the direction of the door.

"It's Ryan." The man responded, stuck in a state of confusion.

"Whatever—I'm going to go take a shower and when I get out, I want any and every trace of you gone." Rhonda demanded, heading into her master bathroom. She started to run a hot shower for herself but instead, decided to draw herself a nice bath. She could see from the security camera footage from her cell phone that Jack-Ryan-whoever, had finally left her townhouse and now she was all alone.

She placed her iPhone on the docking station in her bathroom and put on her favorite Pandora playlist. She tossed a bath bomb into the water and watched as the bath water turned a bright pink. Thoughts of loneliness began to creep into her mind and she could feel tears start to lightly stream down her face as she lowered herself into the bathtub. _Lloyd's don't cry_ she tried to tell herself.

Rhonda's main concern was appearances and it had been that way for as long as she could remember. She recalled attending Urban Tots preschool, surrounded by her classmates that were always so free and liberated. Meanwhile, Rhonda, even at age four was concerned with how she would be perceived. So, while her classmates were finger-painting and jumping in mud puddles like children often did- she was more concerned with how her outfit was going to look because there was nothing like going home and seeing the disappointed look on her parents' faces.

 _"Rhonda, dear—look at you. This simply won't do." Brooke Lloyd said, looking down at her four year old child. The Nanny had brought the young girl home in a Burberry dress and leggings that had been splashed with yellow and blue paint._

 _"She's just a child!" Sara, the nanny responded with a thick Italian accent._

 _"And what will people think of this family if they see my daughter looking—looking like that!?" Brooke turned up her nose in disgust._

 _"Mommy, I had such a fun day today—we played-" A young Rhonda started to say excitedly before she was interrupted._

 _"Sara, I want her out of those clothes and into something presentable by the time I come back down. It's almost time for tea and my daughter looks like a charity case." Brooke demanded, ignoring her daughter's story and ascending up the stairs to change her own outfit._

It didn't take long for Rhonda to realize that her family was more concerned with appearances, wealth, and physical items than actually caring for each other. There were some advantages to this, her parents had a hard time saying no to her. Her mother and father never wanted to deny her of anything. However, she realized that it wasn't just her parents that had a hard time saying no to her. As she grew older and puberty hit, she was surprised to see just how far some boys would go to please her. This trait of hers began as an advantage but it was quickly turning into a liability.

* * *

"Wow, this place is pretty nice!" Patty remarked as she walked into Harold's new apartment. The place was bare but Patty was still able to see the potential of the apartment. She had mixed emotions about the place, even though she had no interest in being with Harold anymore—it was a bit sad to see him taking the steps to move away from her. They had been together for so long, it just felt strange to see him moving on. "Great location!"

"Yeah, that was something really important to me. I needed to find a place where you and Chase felt comfortable visiting." Harold responded nervously, they hadn't really discussed how frequently Patty was going to allow Harold to see Chase now that he was moving out. It was a conversation that they were both dreading, as they both had grown accustomed to spending every day with Chase—they were both certain that they could be amicable in dividing up time reasonably, but honestly neither one of them was looking forward to their time with Chase being cut down.

"It's going to take me a few days to furnish this place and get all of the utilities turned on. I hope you don't mind but that means I'll be at home—your place for a few more days." Harold thought he caught his slip of the tongue but Patty noticed.

"It's still your home Harold—take as much time as you need." Patty responded, bouncing Chase lightly in her arms.

Harold pulled the door to the apartment and locked it behind him.

"Damnit—I forgot to get milk!" Patty thought aloud as Chase wriggled around in her arms. Harold reached over and grabbed the baby, Chase still wriggled but he began to calm down a little as his dad laid a gentle kiss on his forehead.

"You go ahead to the store, I'll handle Chase and start on dinner." Harold volunteered and stuck his arm out to hail a cab before Patty could argue with him. She smiled back at him before taking off towards the Corner Market.

Patty was in a rush, eager to get back to the townhouse. In so much of a rush, that as she turned the corner into the dairy aisle she bumped right into someone. The collision sent Patty flying backwards onto the ground, a hand reached out to help her up.

"I'm so sorry." A voice remarked, "I was in such a rush—I don't know what got into me."

Patty accepted the hand helping her up and once on her feet brushed herself off.

"Don't worry about it. I should have been watching where I was going." Patty responded with a small chuckle. She looked up and into the dark brown eyes of the man standing in front of her.

"I'm Jason—Jason Miller." He reached out, palm open awaiting a handshake.

"Patty Berman—uh—Smith." Patty responded, before rolling her eyes at her own slip of the tongue.

"Well which one is it?" Jason chuckled, noticing that he had a dimple in his left cheek when he smiled.

"Berman—for now—it's a long story." Patty explained. Jason looked at her thoughtfully before responding.

"Well, maybe I'll get to hear about it sometime." Jason flashed her a smile, "It was nice meeting you."

"Nice to meet you too." She said, barely audible to the man now walking away from her. Her heart was racing and she nearly forgot why she entered the grocery store in the first place but she was very happy that she did.

* * *

Phoebe and Gerald showered together, under the guise of saving time—but of course that made them even later. It was 7:20 and Phoebe was rushing to apply makeup for the Rehearsal dinner that Gerald was certain they would be late to. _What a way to make a first impression_. Gerald thought to himself.

Somehow, with a little hustle and a lot of luck, they were in the lobby of the hotel waiting for Kyo to pick them up—who arrived at 7:30 on the dot.

"I was as little worried- I didn't expect two eighteen year olds to be ready on time, but you two really did surprise me." Kyo remarked with a surprised tone of voice and Gerald shot Phoebe a knowing glance.

Gerald hadn't been to a lot of weddings so he didn't have a lot of experience with Rehearsal dinners, but when they pulled up he quickly realized he was a bit overdressed. They pulled up to a beautiful, large home which was sitting on a tremendous amount of land. The back lawn was lit with simple paper lanterns that swung beautifully with the light evening breeze. He could smell barbecue wafting in the air.

The dinner guests were mingling and a lot of the family members were excited to see Phoebe—she hadn't been to her hometown of Louisville, Kentucky since freshman year of high school. Gerald met a lot of new family members, some that he had heard about—some that he was just hearing of for the first time today. He always thought that the rehearsal dinner was reserved for close family members and members of the wedding party, but looking at the amounts of people joined together mingling on the lawn—he could see that that wasn't the case here.

"So Phoebe, how excited are you for college?" A tall, slender, older redhead asked Phoebe.

"It's going to be a lovely change of scenery! I'm really excited to see what next year brings. I'll be honest, I'm a little nervous though." Phoebe responded honestly.

"What about you?" The woman asked in Gerald's direction. "What college are you attending next year?"

"Oh." Gerald cleared his throat, "I accepted a scholarship at University of Washington—far enough to say that I live away from home, but close enough that my mom might consider allowing me to do laundry at her house."

The group laughed in unison.

"So—you and Phoebe are going to do the long distance thing?" the woman questioned. Phoebe shuffled her feet nervously.

"I think I hear my dad calling." Phoebe remarked, eager to remove herself from the awkward conversation. A wave of confusion rushed across Gerald's face.

"What do you mean?" Gerald questioned, looking at the woman and then over to Phoebe.

"I mean, Stanford to University of Washington—that's got to be quite the drive! Not everyone can pull off long distance—but if anyone can it's you two." The woman responded, Gerald took a sip of his drink and walked away, removing himself from the conversation. He could hear Phoebe's feet shuffling behind him, her voice whispering for him to wait. He didn't know where he was going, just that he needed to get the hell out of there.

* * *

 **AN:** I hope this slight look into Rhonda's past will help explain her character a little more. I know a few people have been asking about why Rhonda is the way that she is. I don't dislike Rhonda and I don't think that she means to act the way that she does. She's just used to feeling the like the world revolves around her and she's just now beginning to realize that actions have consequences. This story is also beginning to wind down a little, only a few more chapters left. I hope you're still enjoying it, don't worry- I still have a few things up my sleeve! :) Happy reading. - **BuzzLightyearr**


	12. Whatever It Takes

Chapter Twelve | Whatever It Takes

"Hey, where did Gerald go? I was looking forward to meeting him." Phoebe's cousin Megan asked.

"Um—he back to the room. He wasn't feeling well." Phoebe responded. Phoebe attempted to reason in her mind that she wasn't lying. Gerald did go back to the hotel but she knew that it was all her fault. Typically she shared everything with Gerald—but she didn't even tell Gerald that she applied to Stanford, much less that she got in.

It wasn't that she was trying to keep secrets—it's just that if she got in, she wasn't certain about how she was going to approach the topic of her leaving Hillwood for college. Especially since she knew that Gerald received a full scholarship from University of Washington.

Phoebe walked into the hotel room, uncertain of what to expect. Gerald was just climbing into bed when she arrived.

"Gerald—I-" Phoebe started to say before Gerald interrupted.

"Don't. Just don't." Gerald responded, rolling over in the bed to face away from Phoebe.

The next morning was even more awkward, Phoebe and Gerald woke up and barely spoke two words to each other, they got dressed in near silence and when Kyo picked them up for the wedding he sensed an awkwardness.

"Trouble in paradise?" Kyo asked, looking back in the rearview mirror at them. Their bodies facing away from each other.

"Everything is fine." Phoebe said in an unusually high pitched voice, the blatant lie caused Gerald to roll his eyes.

The wedding went off without a hitch. It was obvious that the couple was deeply in love. Gerald envisioned a future where he would marry Phoebe—the thought brought a smile to his face. He looked over at his girlfriend who had tears in her eyes from the beautiful words the couple were sharing. He reached out and grabbed her hand, and saw her face change into a smile.

"I'm sorry I got so upset." Gerald admitted as they left the ceremony to head to the reception.

"I'm sorry I wasn't the one to tell you," Phoebe responded, "to be honest, I didn't know how."

"I'm so proud of you for getting into Stanford." Gerald remarked, he was happy for her but he was afraid of what this meant for their relationship. Phoebe could sense his worry.

"Now that it's out there, what does this mean for us?" Phoebe questioned. Gerald didn't want to admit that he'd been worried about their relationship since he found out that they would be attending schools so far apart.

"I think that we should enjoy these next two months before we decide on anything too rash." Gerald offered as a solution. Phoebe quietly shook her head in agreement. _Two months._ Gerald thought to himself.

* * *

Rhonda walked into the hotel lobby wearing a form fitting Herve Leger dress and a pair of her favorite Manolo Blahnik heels and headed straight for the bar. Rhonda wasn't sure how this outing was going to go—she had never been to this particular bar before but she figured the way that she was looking tonight no bartender would deny her service.

Rhonda observed her surroundings, the bar wasn't very busy for a Saturday night. Her heels clicked across the marble floors as she made her way to the bar top.

"What will you be having?" The bartender, Scott, asked. She looked Scott up and down. He was tall and slender, with light brown hair and a five o'clock shadow. _Plain, moderately attractive_. Rhonda thought to herself.

"Belvedere Martini, up, three olives, slightly dirty. Please and thank you." Rhonda responded, the bartender raised his eyebrow but went about making the drink.

"That's quite the order sweet cheeks." A voice spoke behind the girl. The bartender slid the girl her martini. "No worries, I'll just sit."

Rhonda turned to her right and looked at the man who was now sitting by her side. He looked like he was about the same height as Rhonda without the heels. He had a pair of red eyeglasses and short buzzed black hair.

"Curly?" Rhonda questioned, taking a sip of her drink and turning up her nose.

"Well, Thaddeus, I haven't heard that nickname in years." Thaddeus chuckled.

"Listen up _Thad_ , I didn't like you before and I don't like you now." Rhonda quipped, waiving her hand in his direction.

"Another?" The bartender asked and Rhonda shook her head yes. "Anything for you sir?"

"Throwing them back pretty quickly aren't you?" Thaddeus criticized, looking at Rhonda over the rim of his glasses. "What's your plan for tonight?"

"Well, I suppose my plan for the night is to get drunk." Rhonda responded.

"Sir, a drink?" The bartender questioned once again.

"You know that drinking never really helps anything, right?"

"Well, it helps me."

"Well, in that case—I guess we're drinking buddies tonight." Thaddeus responded. "Um—I guess I'll have what she's having."

The bartender rolled his eyes in slight frustration before making a pair of martinis.

"Why are you here? Shouldn't you be in the looney bin or something?" Rhonda questioned.

"You'd think so, wouldn't you?" Thaddeus chuckled at his own joke, "I've done my time. It was a nice bid in the looney bin, nice bed too if you catch my drift."

Thaddeus nudged Rhonda in the arm causing her to spill her martini a bit.

"Seriously? Curly, you're such a spaz sometimes." Rhonda complained, throwing her arms up in an exaggerated motion.

"Come on, you're Rhonda Wellington Lloyd—live a little hot stuff!" Thaddeus exclaimed, "The world is your very expensive oyster!"

"If you're going to keep talking, we're going to have to drink more." Rhonda remarked, "Oh Scott dear, two shots of Don Julio please—dressed."

After many martinis and shots, Rhonda started to think that Thaddeus was actually kind of cute in his own way. She leaned over and grazed his shoulder giving her best seductive smile.

"What are you doing?" Thaddeus asked nervously.

"Haven't you always adored me?" Rhonda slightly slurred, placing a wandering hand on his leg. "Why don't we take this over to my place?"

"Actually—my place is probably closer. Scott, charge it to room 2213." Thaddeus remarked before leading an intoxicated Rhonda up to his room.

* * *

"Wow, doesn't this place bring back memories?" Arnold asked, taking his seat at the table for four at Chez Paris. "I mean, technically this was our first date and I guess our first double date too."

"Yeah, if you don't count the time I pretended to be your pen pal." Helga laughed.

"That was you?" Arnold exclaimed.

"Seriously?" Helga responded, "Well, I guess the secret is out now isn't it bucko."

"I guess I've still got a lot to learn about my _girlfriend_ , don't I?" Arnold chuckled.

"I must say, it's quite comforting to have our little group together in this manner." Phoebe remarked.

"Yeah… it's great." Gerald attempted to muster enthusiasm but was failing miserably. He shoved around the mashed potatoes on his plate.

"Are you okay man, you're not really acting like yourself." Arnold observed.

"Yeah, I'm fine man. Just got a lot on my mind." Gerald responded.

"Okayyyy." Helga rolled her eyes and Arnold gave her a nudge. "Well, how was the wedding? Did you like Kentucky?"

"That's—that's kind of a difficult topic for us right now." Phoebe admitted.

"Okay, spill—what the hell is going on between you two?" Helga demanded, pointing her fingers in their directions.

"We've just have some things we need to work out but-" Phoebe started to state.

"Did you know that Phoebe is going to Stanford this fall?" Gerald blurted out and Phoebe's head dropped into her hands. Arnold and Helga looked at each other and then back at their friends on the other side of the table.

"Oh Phoebe." Helga whispered.

"Well—it's driving distance." Arnold remarked, attempting to smooth over the conversation. Helga shot him a look.

"It's like a thirteen hour drive." Helga said rolling her eyes.

"Okay, so it's a long drive." Arnold readjusted his statement, "Come on, you're Gerald and Phoebe. You've been together for so long, you can survive this."

"Yeah—what he said." Helga agreed, "I swear, is there nothing this man can't solve?"

Arnold blushed slightly and Helga leaned over and gave her boyfriend a kiss on the cheek. Gerald and Phoebe looked at each other uncomfortably. It looked as if there was a new lovey-dovey couple in town—and a newly bitter one.

* * *

"Okay, I'm ready!" Eugene said, bursting into Lila's room.

"Huh? What?" Lila asked, rubbing her eyes before sitting up in her bed. She looked over at the time. "Eugene, its 4:30 in the morning!"

"You told me to tell you when I'm ready to come out of the closet! Well honey, I'm here—I'm queer, get used to it." Eugene laughed.

"Have you been drinking?" Lila raised an eyebrow.

"Oh heaven's no!" Eugene responded, plopping himself next to Lila on her bed. "It just came to me in a dream. Get this—we'll go have dinner at my parents!"

"Ooohh ever so creative." Lila teased throwing a decorative pillow in his direction.

"Okay, so it's settled… we're meeting my parents at 6:00 tomorrow—well I guess, technically it's today." Eugene quickly remarked as he jumped out Lila's bed.

"Wait—I didn't agree -"

"Alright, good night, sleep tight don't let the bed bugs bite!" Eugene sang, backing himself out of Lila's room, turning off her light and closing the door. Lila rolled her eyes and pulled the blanket over her head—tomorrow was going to be a long day.

* * *

Rhonda was woken up by the sunlight coming through the floor to ceiling windows of the room that was in. She jumped up in the bed, covering herself with the basic white comforter on the bed. She looked around trying to place exactly where she was. She looked down at herself, wearing a bra and thin panties but she was in bed all alone.

 _What happened last night?_ She thought to herself. She remembered drinking martinis at a new hotel bar—then some man came up to her.

"Oh my god! Curly!" She gasped and yelled out.

"Hold your horses sweetheart, daddy is coming with breakfast!" Thaddeus appeared in the doorway of the bedroom with a giant smile on his face carrying a tray of brunch items.

"What on earth are you doing here?" Rhonda questioned, looking up and down at the man standing before her, "Please don't tell me-"

"What do you mean? This is my house darling!" Thaddeus responded, "I mean, technically it's a suite in a hotel but it's my place of residence."

"What? How?" Rhonda sputtered out, trying to place together the night but failing to put any of the puzzle together. Thaddeus looked back at her matching her level of confusion. He set the tray of food on the nightstand and took a seat next to Rhonda on the king sized bed.

"Rhonda— _darling_." Thaddeus responded slowly.

"Curly—don't come any closer until you explain yourself." Rhonda demanded.

"Well, my Uncle owns this hotel—my parents and I haven't really talked much since I went into inpatient care, so once I got out-" Thaddeus began explaining but Rhonda looked increasingly frustrated.

"Why am I in your room!?" Rhonda yelled, interrupting Thaddeus' story causing him to jump back in surprise.

"Oh— _that_." Thaddeus chuckled, "Well last night you had quite a bit to drink—you insisted that I come back to your place but I said my place was closer." Thaddeus grabbed a strawberry off the tray and bit into it. Rhonda's eyes widened.

"So you—and I?" Rhonda struggled to state.

"Yes!" Thaddeus raised his eyebrows up and down, Rhonda threw her face into her hands and screamed into them.

"This is a nightmare—I can't believe _we_ had sex last night." Rhonda remarked. Thaddeus raised a single eyebrow in confusion.

"We didn't have sex last night." Thaddeus responded, "You were coming on to me—and a weaker man may have been tempted but I stayed strong. For my Rhonda deserves more than just a drunken one night stand. You my dear, deserve breakfast in bed, for starters."

Rhonda felt a small caring smile creep across her face. Thaddeus grabbed the tray and sat it next to them. Rhonda grabbed a mimosa and a slice of toast and smiled at her companion.

 _Well, I guess I have woken up to worse_. She thought to herself.

* * *

 **AN** : It looks like 17 is the magic number for this story. So, only five chapters to go. :) Thanks for your support. -BuzzLightyearr


	13. You're Not Foolin' Me

Chapter 13 | You're Not Foolin' Me

* * *

Harold taped up a cardboard box and added it to the small mountain of boxes that were forming in the living room of things he needed to take to his new apartment.

"Are you sure there's nothing else you need?" Patty asked, furrowing her brow slightly with concern. She was happy that they were moving on but she'd been dating Harold since middle school. Even though she knew that they were doing the right thing, there was a slight pang in her heart when she realized that their relationship was really ending.

"No, I think this is everything." Harold responded, "Stinky said he would help me take the last bit of things over tomorrow."

Patty jumped at the knock at the door.

"Were you expecting anyone?" Patty asked.

"No." Harold said, making his way to the door. "Ma! What are you doing here?" Harold asked as his mother walked past him into the living room of the house.

"Well, you hardly call anymore. I've only seen my only grandson three times since he's been born! Where is my little bubbe?" Marilyn Berman, Harold's mother exclaimed. Jerry, his father was trailing behind her shaking his head with disapproval.

"I tried to tell her not to just come over here all unannounced, you know your mother though." Jerry rolled his eyes, entering the house and looking around the living room.

"Patricia, what's going on in here? All these boxes stacked everywhere, that's no way to live!" Marilyn exclaimed, looking at the cardboard moving boxes that Harold and Patty didn't think were overwhelming, until Marilyn pointed them out.

"It's temporary." Patty cleared her throat and said. Patty and Marilyn had never truly gotten along, they simply just tolerated each other.

"See, dear, it's temporary. No need to make a big deal out of it." Jerry remarked.

"I just don't understand why they need all of these boxes lying around, I'm uncomfortable just looking at it." Marilyn explained. Patty hit Harold gently on the arm, wondering what the hell his mother was going on about. Harold shot Patty a look in return, as if to say _'I'm sorry.'_

"Mom, I've been meaning to tell you, I'm moving." Harold announced. His mother's eyes shot open as though she had been shot through the heart with his words.

"Why Harold!?" She whined, "You were going to move and not even tell your own mother?"

"It's complicated." Harold responded, shifting his eyes and placing his hands in his pant pockets. Even at twenty years old, his mother could make him feel like the size of an ant with just one look.

"What do you mean it's complicated? You know, you can tell me. Haven't I always been supportive of you?" Marilyn questioned, her eyes beginning to well up with tears. Patty rolled her eyes slightly at the theatrics of his mother.

"Marilyn, if he doesn't want to tell us, he doesn't have to tell us." Jerry quietly quipped.

"Jerry, I'm just saying that we're his parents and we're here for him." Marilyn remarked.

"Okay, well-" Harold began to state but was promptly interrupted.

"I mean there's a difference between being there for him and prying and you tend to border along the lines of prying." Jerry murmured.

"Dad-"

"Prying!? Who is prying!? I just want to know what is going on with our son. Is that so much to ask?" Marilyn gasped, flailing her arms wildly.

"Mom-"

"See, I can't talk to your mother when she gets all worked up like this." Jerry said, turning his back slightly away from his wife and crossing his arms.

"Mom, Dad—Patty and I are separated! That's why I'm moving out!" Harold shouted, hoping that the words could be heard over his parents' bickering. The room fell silent following Harold's confession. Jerry looked at the young couple in shock, Marilyn looked at them with a distraught expression.

"Patricia, is this true?" Marilyn asked, looking at the young girl.

"Yes, I'm afraid so Mrs. Berman." Patty responded with a destressed look in her eyes.

"A divorce though? So soon after my bubbe was born!? You two can work things out—you're so young." Marilyn remarked. Patty shot an uncomfortable look towards Harold, who started rubbing his left arm.

"Marilyn, we don't know what's going on, if they're separated then I'm sure they have good reason for it. It's none of our business." Jerry reiterated.

"None of our business? Our son is moving out of his apartment and leaving his wife and child behind. I'm concerned about my two little men, is that okay with you Jerry!?" Marilyn remarked, dramatically taking a seat on the couch.

"Ma, it's all my fault—that's all that needs to be said." Harold pleaded, his mother still staring at him in astonishment from her seat on the couch.

"What on earth could you have done that warrants a separation?" Marilyn pried. "You've always been such a good boy."

"Marilyn!" Jerry said, shaking his head in embarrassment.

"It's what needed to be done and it's what's best for our family." Patty explained.

"I messed up—I wish I could fix things," Harold said looking at Patty, "but the damage is already done. This is happening Ma, I'm sorry you had to find out this way."

"Harold, I warned you about messing around with these Shiksas!" Marilyn remarked, eying Patty up and down. Patty controlled the urge to tell her mother-in-law off.

"Ma! It's not like that at all." Harold exclaimed. "Patty sacrificed a lot for me and I took her for granted—now I'm paying the price."

"I'm sorry for the inconvenience—we're still in the middle of figuring things out ourselves—Chase is sleeping in his nursery still if you want to pay him a visit. I would never keep you away from your-" Patty stated firmly, looking around at Harold's family before finishing her thought, "bubbe".

Patty using the Yiddish term Bubbe brought a smile to Harold's face and Patty couldn't help but return it.

"You know, Harold brought home some amazing ground chuck the other night—it wouldn't take me long to whip up some spaghetti so we can eat together as a family." Patty smiled.

"That sounds great." Marilyn remarked, giving Patty a quick hug before heading to the nursery. Patty headed to the kitchen and pulled the ground chuck out of the refrigerator and began preparing it for dinner. Harold grabbed her arm as she pulled a frying pan out of the cabinet.

"You know, you don't have to do this right?" Harold told his wife.

"I know, but I want to." Patty smiled back at him. Their family may not be perfect but it was functioning the best they knew how and that's all anyone could ask for.

* * *

"Oh man Pheebs, those Buddy Love movies get funnier every time! Who would have thought _Buddy Love goes Grapefruits_ would be so hilarious!?" Helga exclaimed, wiping tears from her eyes as she and Phoebe exited the movie theater.

"I'm still partial to the classic _Buddy Love goes Coconuts_ if you ask me." Phoebe remarked dryly as she readjusted her glasses on her nose. Helga looked over at her friend and raised an eyebrow.

"Come on Pheebs, don't be such a downer. How about we hit up Slausen's for a nice sundae. You know I've always had a thing for _ice cream_." Helga joked, nudging Phoebe in her right arm.

"Ice cream does sound like a delightful idea." Phoebe responded, giving a very slight smile. The pair of friends walked towards Slausen's in a slightly awkward silence. Once at the ice cream parlor, they sat at the countertop and ordered their ice creams. While they were waiting for their confections to be made, Helga sat in the stool swooshing back and forth while tapping her fingers on the counter.

"Must you tap your fingers like that!?" Phoebe exclaimed. Helga stopped her stool and sat directly facing Phoebe at her left side. Phoebe found herself on edge

"Well—if you'd prefer we can have a conversation." Helga responded, raising her eyebrows slightly. Phoebe couldn't read what emotion was on her face. "I'm supposed to be your _best_ friend Phoebe, why didn't you tell _me_ about Stanford."

Phoebe sat uncomfortably in her stool as she searched her mind for an answer. She knew the reason why she didn't tell anyone, but Helga was the type of girl who had a response for everything and Phoebe knew that no response would be good enough for her.

"Honestly, everything was just so surreal. One moment we're in elementary school thinking about what our lives would be like."

"Never forget that you tried to justify why _woodsperson_ would be a good career choice for me, but go on."

"The next moment we're in high school, in relationships, thinking that everything would eventually work itself out!" Phoebe exclaimed. Wyatt placed two large ice cream sundaes in front of the ladies. Phoebe eyed the concoction up and down while plotting how she was going to eat this entire thing, whereas Helga took her spoon and dug in immediately.

"I didn't intend to keep this secret from you or Gerald. I just really didn't know how I was going to tell either one of you. I'm really sorry Helga."

"Listen Pheebs, you're my best friend and you have been for quite some time and I have never judged you for anything that you do. I'll admit I don't fully understand exactly why you didn't tell me or anyone else about you applying to Stanford but I know that for you to keep a secret your reasoning must have been huge. So—I mean, to make a long story short I forgive you. Now come over here you big lug!" Helga exclaimed and Phoebe reached over to her right and gave her best friend a huge hug.

"I love you Helga." Phoebe beamed.

"I love you too Pheebs." Helga responded. "Now, do you want to tell me what's going on between you and tall hair boy?"

"Honestly? That's too much for one night—let's save that for another time." Phoebe chuckled. "How about _you_ tell _me_ what's going on with you and your new boyfriend." Phoebe smirked.

"Oh Phoebe," Helga responded, taking a slow, smooth bite of her ice cream, "Where do I begin."

* * *

"Lila, how does this outfit look?" Eugene asked, stepping into her bedroom wearing a pair of dark wash jeans, white converses and a white polo shirt.

"It looks fine to me." Lila remarked, before brushing past him to head to the living room.

"Are you okay? I thought you wanted to do this with me." Eugene inquired, following her into the common space of the apartment. Lila sat onto the couch to put her shoes on.

"I'm fine Eugene and I do want to do this with you. I'm just oh so worried about how everything is going to go tonight." Lila responded honestly looking up at Eugene with big, wide eyes.

"It will be fine—besides, you're supposed to be _my_ support system not the other way around!" Eugene exclaimed, nudging his best friend slightly, causing her to let out a small giggle.

"I know, I know." Lila responded.

When the pair arrived to the Horowitz household, Lila immediately felt uncomfortable walking through the door. She had been to Eugene's childhood home many times, Eugene's parents always felt very welcoming. Somehow this time had a different vibe as she walked through the door.

"Lila dear, you look absolutely radiant!" Mrs. Horowitz remarked as she leaned in to give Lila a hug and a kiss on each cheek. "Come on in, take a load off. I'm just finishing up right now."

Lila could feel her palms getting sweaty, she looked over at Eugene for moral support but he looked cool as a cucumber. _Great_. She thought to herself.

"Dinner is ready!" Mrs. Horowitz sang out from the kitchen. Eugene pulled out Lila's chair and she took a seat. The spread was extraordinary: fresh garden salad, homemade biscuits, fried and baked chicken, mashed potatoes and gravy and sautéed green beans.

"Everything looks ever so amazing!" Lila exclaimed as she gazed over the food.

"Just a normal Thursday evening!" Mrs. Horowitz chuckled to herself. Lila found herself blushing slightly, she remembered having days where she didn't know where her next meal was coming from. She shook the thought from her mind. Eugene noticed Lila's nervousness and placed a warm hand over hers.

"So, son, you said you had something important to tell us." Mr. Horowitz remarked after everyone had served themselves around the table. Eugene was in the middle of taking a bite of his mashed potatoes when his father inquired the purpose for the family dinner that evening.

"Yes, you seemed quite eager over the phone for us to have dinner this evening. I'm quite excited to hear the important news myself." Mrs. Horowitz remarked, eyeing her son from across the dinner table. Eugene's eyes looked up at the ceiling, he thought that he was ready to come out to his parents but now that everyone was seated staring at him, he was having second thoughts. _Okay Eugene, it's now or never!_ He thought to himself.

"Yes! I am quite excited to share with everyone my news!" Eugene managed to state at the table with enthusiasm. He could feel the eyes of his parents staring holes through his body. "It's about—who I am as a person. Hopefully you will be able to accept it."

Eugene's parents shot each other a strange look before refocusing on their son.

"I have been holding back a part of who I am for a very long time." Eugene explained, he could feel sweat beads forming below his hairline on his furrowing brow.

"Mom—Dad—I am-" Eugene began to state, pausing for a moment to look at his best friend who was staring back at him with a polite smile to cheer him on. "I'm dating Lila—that's the big news!"

"What!?" Lila exclaimed along with Mr. and Mrs. Horowitz.

"Yes, Lila and I have found that our emotions for each other are just too much to keep secret—so I hope you will accept the fact that we're not just roommates, we're dating." Eugene blurted out. Lila's face was turning beet red.

"You know, I always thought that the two of you would make a cute couple." Mrs. Horowitz said as she got up from her seat to give Lila a big hug. "I know that you'll take good care of him."

"I couldn't envision anyone more perfect for our little Eugene." Mr. Horowitz doted on his son. Lila smiled awkwardly towards his family, the conversation continued on nearly constantly until Eugene and Lila prepared to leave.

"Thank you so much for coming tonight and giving us such wonderful news." Mrs. Horowitz exclaimed as the pair prepared to head home.

"I'm ever so certain the pleasure was all mine." Lila diplomatically stated before they headed down the steps of the apartment building. Once they were out of view from the Horowitz residence Lila delivered a swift punch to Eugene's left arm.

"What the hell was that for?" Eugene asked, rubbing his arm for comfort.

"We're dating now!?" Lila yelled, "That wasn't part of the plan!"

"Keep your voice down! I'm sorry—I panicked." Eugene explained.

"You owe me big time." Lila remarked with the rare bit of anger displayed on her face.

"I Know, I know—I _know_ how I can repay you—"Eugene responded with a sly grin on his face. Lila wasn't sure whether to feel relieved, grateful or nervous, she just knew she couldn't wait to be home.

* * *

Chase was finally sound asleep in his crib and Patty didn't know what to do with herself. Harold had officially moved into his new apartment and it was one of the first times Patty had been all alone overnight in the home. Patty grabbed a cold yahoo soda from the refrigerator, plopped down on her couch, and searched for something to watch on Netflix. She settled on old episodes of Golden Girls for background noise as she mindlessly surfed the internet on her laptop.

She logged on to Facebook and was surprised that she had a new friend request. Jason Miller. She grinned as she accepted the request. She decided to take a look through his Facebook page. He had a nice mix between fun vacation photos, family pictures and business photos. She noticed that he was 25 years old, a little older than her group of friends and that he was originally from Ithaca, New York. She was deep into his timeline when a small chat box popped up on her screen.

Jason Miller: Thanks for accepting my friend request.

Jason Miller: I hope you don't mind that I added you. :)

Patty Smith-Berman: Of course not.

Patty smiled to herself as they chatted back and forth finding out more and more information about each other. Patty was pleased, she hadn't made a new friend in quite some time. She had to admit to herself that she was rather attracted to him but that could be her little secret for now.

* * *

"I don't know about this Gerald," Arnold remarked as the duo walked down the street towards Harold's new apartment, "It's like I've got a bad feeling about this."

"Come on, what is there to be worried about—we used to play poker together all the time!" Gerald responded.

"We were nine." Arnold deadpanned. He reminisced about the many poker nights that were held in his childhood bedroom, times were innocent when they were children. Now they were visiting their recently separated friend for a poker night and he had no idea what to expect.

"Well, it will be good for us to be around some men for a chance. Don't get me wrong, I love Phoebe to death but I need to be around some testosterone." Gerald remarked. "I want to burp and not have to say excuse me, I want to be around people who don't think "fart" is a dirty word."

"So that's what male bonding is to you? Poor manners?" Arnold quipped, raising an eyebrow at his friend.

"Ha ha." Gerald sarcastically remarked as he lifted a fist to knock on Harold's apartment door.

"Took you guys long enough!" Harold responded as he opened the door.

"Well, hello to you too bubba." Gerald joked, patting Harold on the shoulder.

"We brought yahoos." Arnold said, handing a 12-pack of yahoos to Harold. Gerald and Arnold looked around the apartment. Harold had a few snacks laid out on the coffee table in front of his couch. Lorenzo was already sitting at the card table, drinking a yahoo.

"Hey man, I haven't seen you since you've been back." Lorenzo remarked as he rose from the table. Lorenzo outstretched a tanned hand and gave Arnold a solid bro shake. "What's new?"

Arnold opened his mouth to answer when there was another knock at the door.

"Who else are you expecting man?" Gerald asked, sitting on the couch with his feet crossed on the coffee table, tossing individual pieces of popcorn into the air and catching them in his mouth.

"What do you mean? When's the last time we had a poker night without Peterson?" Harold responded emerging from the kitchen.

"Man, I told you Arnold was coming—why would you invite him?" Gerald exclaimed jumping up from his seat.

"Stinky. Stinky Peterson is here?" Arnold sighed rolling his eyes and shooting a look towards Gerald.

"Well, what was I supposed to do!? I can't just _un_ invite him." Harold shouted, flailing his arms.

"Woah, what's the deal?" Lorenzo asked, looking around at the three men surrounding him.

"No deal. I'm sure everything will be fine." Arnold responded with a small forced grin on his face as he attempted to believe the words that came out of his mouth.

* * *

 **AN** : Happy Monday everyone! My dear husband loves how Harold's parents banter on the show so that part of the chapter is for him, I hope that I did this couple justice. Four more everyone! Thanks for reading. :) - **BuzzLightyearr**


	14. We Can Work It Out

Chapter 14 | We Can Work It Out

"Hey Stinky." Harold answered the door with an exaggerated fake grin on his face, "Just a heads up—I invited Arnold tonight. I hope you don't mind."

"I reckon I don't mind. We're all friends here." Stinky responded as he entered the house.

"Okay good." Harold breathed a sigh of relief.

"Gerald. Lorenzo. _Arnold_." Stinky nodded at the gentlemen standing around the living room, Arnold resisted the urge to roll his eyes at the blatant exaggeration of his name. "Nice digs you got here Harold."

"Yeah, it's pretty sweet having my own bachelor pad." Harold said, taking a seat at the card table, "Now, are we going to chat like ladies at a tea party or are we going to play some poker?"

"Now this is what I'm talking about—no dames—just us men having a good time." Gerald remarked, before belching. "Read 'em and weep boys, full house."

Arnold, Lorenzo, Stinky and Harold let out a collective groan.

"Man, you sure are on fire tonight." Stinky drawled.

"Hey man, I only have a few more opportunities to whoop all of you in some poker before I head off to college." Gerald chuckled.

"I can not wait for college man!" Lorenzo commented, "Only a month and a half to go and I'll be in sunny Stanford, California!"

"Well, do me a favor and keep an eye on Phoebe while you're out there!" Gerald remarked lowly.

"I can't believe she kept that from you," Stinky responded, "but then again, birds of a feather" he mumbled to himself, practically inaudible to the rest of the table except Arnold. Arnold rolled his eyes and clinched his fists under the table, mentally calming himself down.

"Gerald, you're doing a good job of making the best of the time you have left together," Arnold remarked, "besides, the first semester is going to fly by so fast you'll barely have time to miss each other."

"Yeah, I know man, but it's easier said than done." Gerald responded honestly.

"Man, if that's your biggest problem consider yourself lucky." Harold remarked, as he dealt out the cards for the next hand. "I mean, soon I'm going to be a divorced 20 year old dad. How depressing is that?"

"Yeah, I'm really sorry about what happened between you and Patty." Lorenzo remarked, placing his bet in the middle of the table.

"He's a grown man, don't make excuses for him—he made his bed and he needs to lie in it." Stinky remarked.

"That's a good point." Lorenzo murmured and looked at his hand before deciding to fold.

"Oh no—you're not perfect either. You two both messed up good relationships because of the same woman." Gerald remarked, pointing his fingers across the table at Harold and Lorenzo.

"Okay okay. No one here is perfect with relationships." Lorenzo muttered.

"Yeah, that's for dang sure." Stinky remarked, looking across the table at Arnold causing him to shift uncomfortably in his seat.

"Well, what about you Arnold?" Lorenzo perked up and asked, "Any tips from San Lorenzo that might help us?"

"Uh. No." Arnold remarked bluntly.

"Come on this is supposed to be a guy's night." Gerald attempted to switch the subject. "How about that baseball game last night? I didn't think the Black Sox had it in 'em, but they somehow pulled a win!"

"Come on Arnold, share some of your tips with us! I mean, I reckon I would sure find it useful if you gave us an example of how you steal girls from other relationships." Stinky remarked bitterly.

"Hey!" Arnold slammed his fists down on the table and stood up facing Stinky "That is not what happened at all."

"Are you sure Arnold? Cuz the way I see it—Helga and I were doing just fine and then you waltz your way back into the picture." Stinky responded, "Out of all the girls in Hillwood you could have gone after, you had to go and steal mine?"

"Stinky, I'm going to need you to just calm down." Gerald remarked trying to defuse the situation.

"Whoa!" Lorenzo commented.

"Listen, Helga and I have been friends for years. I'm _really_ sorry that things happened the way they did but I wasn't trying to steal your girlfriend." Arnold responded.

"Wait, I didn't even know you and Helga broke up." Lorenzo remarked, trying to piece together the new information that was being thrown around the table. "I mean, on the bright side—regardless of what Arnold did or didn't do—at least she won't be in a relationship for a while. I mean, remember how long it took her to agree to be your girlfriend? "

Arnold and Gerald looked across the table at each other before Gerald redirected his attention towards Harold, his eyes making a plea that he hoped would be accepted.

"Could this night get any worse!?" Gerald whispered to himself, shaking his head into the palm of his hand.

"Shows how much you know Lorenzo. She's already dating Ar- _nold_." Harold sang. Gerald face palmed himself and Stinky's mouth fell into a gasp and he looked over at a blushing Arnold.

"You two are _together_?" Stinky asked, trying not to stumble over his words.

"Seriously Harold!? You kept it a secret that you were banging Rhonda for months, scratch that, _years_. You couldn't keep this secret for one night!?" Gerald exclaimed, his voice booming over the table in Harold's direction.

"Well, I didn't know it was a secret!" Harold's voiced boomed.

"I can't believe this. I'm just going to excuse myself before I do something I regret." Stinky said, finally breaking the glaze between the two angry men.

"Stinky, wait!" Arnold called out but Stinky quickly made his way to the door, slamming it behind him as he left. Arnold shook his head in frustration and Lorenzo placed a hand on his shoulder.

"I'm sorry man. I didn't know." Lorenzo remarked.

"Wow, I'm really an asshole, aren't I?" Arnold questioned.

"Alright, so your halo is a little scuffed right now, everyone can't be perfect all the time." Gerald commented and Arnold glared at him. "I mean that in a good way, you had a pretty good run—welcome to the real world."

* * *

"Wow, I didn't expect to see you here!" Helga remarked as she walked out of the doors and saw Arnold standing in the lobby that housed her office building. She grabbed Arnold's shoulder and planted a gentle kiss on his lips.

"I hope you don't mind. When I talked to you earlier you sounded like you were having a bad day so I figured we could go get some coffee, or ice cream, or both." Arnold smirked, the smile was contagious because one soon took over Helga's face as well.

"Sounds like a date. Lead the way _football head_." Helga beamed, Arnold did a playful roll of his eyes and gave his girlfriend a small grin at her use of his nickname. Growing up the name was a slight annoyance—now for some reason when she said it, it gave him butterflies, it was endearing. He reached down and grabbed her hand, intertwining his fingers with hers and heading down the road in the direction of their favorite café downtown.

Helga and Arnold ordered their coffees with the barista and took their seats on the leather couch next to the back window of the café, it was their favorite place to sit.

"So, Phoebe told me that had quite the poker night." Helga said, taking a sip of her coffee and looking at her boyfriend over the edge of her cup. Arnold let out a giant sigh. "So what happened?"

"Stinky just had a few things to say about us— _apparently_ I stole you away from him." Arnold responded honestly, anger and bitterness lacing the few words that he spoke.

"He said that you _stole_ me from him!?" Helga said in an outraged voice.

"Pretty much."

"Criminy."

"Well-"

"I'm not a piece of property and I decide who I want to date or not!" Helga exclaimed.

" _I_ know that Helga but I still feel a little responsible for your breakup." Arnold admitted, "Looking back on it—I wasn't very respectful of the boundaries of our friendship."

"Listen, when I saw you all of these old feelings just came rushing back. Feelings that I tried to push down and forget about for a while. Stinky and I had a good thing going but this—" Helga said gesturing her fingers between herself and Arnold, "This is something that doesn't happen often."

Arnold smiled and gave his girlfriend a kiss on the cheek.

"Thanks. I needed that." Arnold remarked.

"I didn't know you were coming back." Helga stated out of the blue, looking down at her half full coffee cup.

"What?" Arnold asked, his eyebrows wrinkled with confusion.

"I stopped writing you out of the blue because I didn't know you were coming back and missing you was becoming too painful." Helga admitted, her eyes wide with emotion, "It wasn't because of Stinky or anything else. I just—really missed you."

Arnold leaned over and wrapped his arm around Helga's shoulders.

"Well, I'm here now and you'll never have to miss me again." Arnold smiled.

* * *

"Okay, Lana, I need my bangs trimmed and I'm thinking about getting layers? What do you think about layers?" Rhonda asked, sitting in the salon chair looking at herself in the mirror.

Lana fluffed her hair around and toyed with it.

"I think the blunt cut suits you Miss Rhonda." Lana said, standing back in an attempt to look at her hair objectively.

"I don't know. Maybe we should play around a little." Rhonda remarked, placing a finger on her lips in thought. She could see a few ladies in the waiting area snickering and whispering back and forth. Rhonda was used to people talking about her but lately the things that people were saying were definitely not in her favor. She could feel the blood begin to rush to her face.

"You know what Lana, I _just_ remembered—I have a meeting with my mother this afternoon and I just can't miss it. We'll just have to reschedule." Rhonda quipped, ripping the black salon apron off and throwing it onto the salon chair. She fumbled around in her purse and pulled out two twenty dollar bills. "Here is a little something for your trouble, I am terribly sorry."

Rhonda clutched her purse tightly and hurried out of the door. She took a deep breath once outside to regain her composure and headed to her Mercedes-Benz convertible before pulling out her cell phone. She scrolled through the contacts and called the one person she knew would definitely pick up.

"Hello."

"I am having a horrible day." Rhonda yelled into the telephone.

"I know just what you need. I'll swing by your place to pick you up."

"Fine." Rhonda responded before hanging up her telephone and heading in the direction of her house.

* * *

"Are you sure you're not still mad at me?" Phoebe questioned, her back propped against the headboard of Gerald's bed.

"Are you going to ask me that every day until you leave?" Gerald responded bluntly. Phoebe raised an eyebrow before her eyes began to lower with sadness. Gerald cupped his girlfriend's face in his hand. "Phoebe, I'm not mad at you, I promise."

"I know. I'm sorry." Phoebe responded, "When do you report for football practice?"

"Two and a half weeks."

Phoebe let out a heavy sigh and placed her hand on Gerald's lap.

"I'll miss you—but I'll be home in the evenings and you know I want to spend as much time with you as possible before you leave."

"I know. I love you."

"I love you too." Gerald responded, giving Phoebe an eager kiss on the lips running his fingers lightly through her dark black hair, "I'm just really nervous about this year."

* * *

Rhonda stepped out of her car and walked up the steps of her townhouse. She threw open the door of her apartment and tossed her keys on the console table tossed in a bowl next to her front door.

"How did you get here before me?" Rhonda questioned.

"Well hello to you too sugar bear." Thaddeus quipped, "Now, get changed into something comfortable—I know just where to go."

"I _am_ comfortable." Rhonda remarked. Thaddeus looked her up and down and took in her outfit. She was wearing a red crop top with a black pencil skirt and a pair of black stilettos.

"Don't get me wrong. You look great toots, but you need to get comfortable. Don't you have any sneakers or sweatpants?"

"Sweatpants!?" Rhonda laughed but Thaddeus' face remained serious. "Oh, you're serious—let me see what I can do, wait here."

Rhonda disappeared into the bedroom. She reemerged wearing a black tank top, black lululemon leggings and a pair of sneakers.

"I guess that will have to do." Thaddeus remarked, "Now come on lets go."

"Oh no. I can't do this!" Rhonda exclaimed when they got to their destination.

"Why? Why can't you?" Thaddeus questioned.

"What if I get hurt or something?" Rhonda asked.

"That could happen—you just have to be faster than me." Thaddeus explained. "I mean seriously, haven't you ever just had the urge to shoot me!?"

"You mean, other than right now?"

"Well toots, Here's your chance."

Rhonda and Thaddeus walked up to the front desk and Thaddeus forked over his credit card in exchange for two camouflage fatigues. Rhonda held hers up as though it was going to attack her but Thaddeus placed his fatigues over his outfit quickly so Rhonda followed suit.

"What color?" The woman asked the pair of teenagers.

"Blue." Thaddeus immediately said.

"Uh—Red, I guess." Rhonda responded.

The woman loaded two paintball guns with the paintball colors they selected and handed them over the counter along with two masks before leading them through a small corridor that led outside. Rhonda looked around the area and multiple areas to take cover at.

"You two have forty-five minutes. Have fun." The woman stated in a monotone voice before walking away.

"Why did you bring me here? I have _no_ idea what I'm doing." Rhonda demanded to know.

"I figured you needed to blow off some steam and this is my favorite way to do that. I think you'll enjoy it. Trust me." Thaddeus responded, before placing his paintball mask over his face.

Rhonda rolled her eyes and put her mask over her face and picked up the paintball gun. She spotted Thaddeus walking towards one of the shelters and she fired three shots. The first two missed but the final one splattered red paint on his butt.

"Oh, it's going on now Ms. Lloyd!" Thaddeus chuckled as Rhonda ran to find cover.

"Time's up!" A woman over a loudspeaker said. Rhonda and Thaddeus both emerged, their once clean fatigues now covered with mud and decorated with the colors of their opponent's guns.

Rhonda took off her mask and revealed a small smile.

"See, I told you!" Thaddeus responded.

"I guess you were right." Rhonda admitted. "It was a really fun time."

"Sometimes, I just have a good feeling about things" Thaddeus stated, as he led Rhonda back out to his car with his hand resting at the small of her back.

* * *

"Okay, are you ever going to tell me what this surprise of yours is?" Lila asked as her and Eugene walked towards Luna Park.

"You look wonderful." Eugene stated with a smile.

"Stop trying to change the subject!" Lila exclaimed with a small giggle.

"If I told you—it wouldn't be a surprise anymore." Eugene responded.

Lila and Eugene were halfway through the park when two tall men began to approach them. Eugene looked over at Lila and flashed her a smile.

"Hey babe." The tall blonde man stated before leaning in to give Eugene a small kiss on the lips causing Eugene to smile from ear to ear.

"Lila, this is my boyfriend Evan and his cousin Aston." Eugene stated introducing the pair of men to her. Lila looked up at Aston who was easily 6'2" with dark brown, nearly black hair and a fabulously chiseled jawline.

"Wow, I didn't know what to expect when I agreed to be set up on a blind date. I must say I'm pleasantly surprised." Aston smiled, Lila noticed that his smile was nearly perfect. She could feel her cheeks getting warm.

"I know that it's overdone—but I was thinking Chez Paris." Evan remarked, looking at his boyfriend for approval.

"I'm okay with that. Lila, Aston—is that alright with you?" Eugene asked. Aston and Lila simply nodded in agreement, neither one of them taking their eyes off of each other.

"Alright, let's head out." Eugene responded, stumbling over a rock and falling into his boyfriend's hands.

"Has anyone told you, you can be a little clumsy?" Evan chuckled.

"Maybe a few times." Eugene admitted as he blushed slightly.

"It's adorable." Evan commented before grabbing ahold of Eugene's hand.

The two couples took their seats at Chez Paris.

"You're forgiven." Lila leaned in and whispered towards Eugene before turning her attention back to Aston.

"So, where did you say you were from?" Lila questioned.

"I was born in Huntington Beach but we moved to Seattle when I was five. I think I'm more of a brooding artist than a surfer boy, so my parents made the right decision." Aston remarked eliciting a laugh from Lila.

Lila was deep into her conversation with Aston when Eugene grabbed Lila's arm.

"What is wrong with you?" Lila exclaimed, looking at her friend with wide eyes.

"Don't be alarmed _but_ I just saw my parents walk in." Eugene responded.

"What's going on?" Evan asked, his face marked with confusion.

"I haven't told my parents about us yet." Eugene admitted.

"He hasn't even told his parents that he's gay yet." Lila interjected causing Eugene to shoot her a stark look.

"Alright, we'll we're a table of four actors. We can figure something out." Aston stated.

"You're an actor?" Lila swooned.

"Now is not the time." Eugene responded through gritted teeth.

"Good evening son! What a pleasant surprise." Mrs. Horowitz remarked as she approached their table. "Lila, you look wonderful."

"Doesn't she though? I sure know how to pick them." Eugene responded, causing Evan to shoot him a confused look.

"So, you and Lila are dating?" Evan raised his eyebrow and looked at Eugene.

"Yes, we are madly, deeply in love and we couldn't hold in our feelings any longer." Eugene responded dramatically. Lila rolled her eyes and shoved her face into her hands.

"Eugene, your father and I saw your girlfriend and this young man walk in together." Mrs. Horowitz gestured towards Lila and Aston, "So, can you cut the act and just tell us what's going on?" Mrs. Horowitz demanded.

* * *

 **AN** : Three more! Three more! Happy Monday & Happy Reading.


	15. Past, Present and Future

Chapter 15 | Past, Present and Future

* * *

Eugene could feel sweat forming on his brow as his saw his mother and father staring at him. Mr. and Mrs. Horowitz were looking at the members of the table with a cross between confusion and impatience. Lila looked over and could see how nervous Eugene looked so she gently placed a hand on his knee.

"Eugene and I broke up." Lila blurted out. "We decided we're better off as friends."

"No. No more lying." Eugene quietly said.

"Mom, Dad. This is Evan Lewis—we've been dating for about a month and a half now." Eugene admitted.

Evan's eyes widened as he looked back and forth between Eugene and his parents. The table eagerly waited for his parents' response.

"Oh son, why would you do this to us?" Mr. Horowitz questioned.

"This is who I am and if you don't accept-" Eugene began to rant.

"Hold it right there Eugene." Mr. Horowitz interrupted, "I mean why would you lie to us? We've always been so supportive of anything you do and instead of being upfront with your mother and I, you lie to us."

"So, you guys don't care that I'm gay?" Eugene questioned with a very confused look on his face.

"No, we care that you would lie to your own parents." Mr. Horowitz explained. "That is not the way that we raised you."

"Evan, I'm sorry we couldn't meet under better circumstances." Mrs. Horowitz spoke in her son's boyfriend's direction. "Perhaps you can come over for dinner sometime. I would love to get to know you better."

"Well, you enjoy your meals. Eugene, we'll have a talk some other time." Mr. Horowitz remarked before leading his wife back to their table.

"That went better than expected." Eugene remarked.

"I can't believe that your parents believed that you and Lila were dating!" Evan teased.

"Is that really so preposterous?" Eugene questioned.

"Yes!" Evan, Aston, and Lila stated simultaneously causing the group to burst out into laughter. Eugene thought to himself about how supportive his family was throughout the years. He really did need to find a way to make things up to him. But for the time being, he couldn't stop smiling at how fortunate he was to have his family's support.

* * *

"I can't believe we're going camping." Helga stated from the backseat of Phoebe's Prius, "What was wrong with a nice trip to the beach!?"

"Helga, the cost of spending a weekend at the beach was astronomical for peak season." Phoebe responded from the passenger's seat.

"Yeah, besides, football practice starts in two weeks so I'm just enjoying my free time with my best friends before I have to eat, sleep and breathe football." Gerald remarked, staying focused on the road ahead.

"We're staying in a cabin—is it _really_ camping at that point?" Arnold questioned.

"Yes it's still camping Arnoldo!" Helga said rolling her eyes, "We had to bring our own food and unfortunately the cabin that Phoebe chose doesn't have any indoor facilities. We're roughing it."

"I hardly call that roughing it." Arnold remarked.

"Not all of us spent nine years in the jungle Arnold." Helga stated as a rebuttal, "We're not all built like you."

"Hmmm... I think you like the way I'm built." Arnold whispered, causing Helga to swoon slightly.

"Well, this place is pretty cute!" Phoebe remarked as they pulled up to their home for the next two nights. It was a traditional log cabin, with very modest furnishings. The girls carried the groceries in while the guys carried the duffel bags.

"Jeez, how much do you girls need for camping?" Gerald remarked, before dropping the bags in the middle of the living room.

"You've got to be prepared for anything out here tall hair boy." Helga quipped, causing Gerald to roll his eyes.

"We still have a few hours of daylight. Is anyone up for a swim?" Phoebe asked the group once the groceries were put away.

"I'm down for a swim." Gerald responded.

"I'm in too." Arnold answered.

"Well, _I'm_ not going to be the party pooper!" Helga exclaimed.

Arnold was taken aback when he saw Helga in her swimsuit. She emerged from the house wearing a small black triangle bikini with a pink bow at the top of the curve of her butt. He had a good glimpse of what her body looked like from the night that Helga came to see him at the boarding house a few days after breaking up with Stinky. However, it wasn't on display like this.

After swimming the guys grilled up some hamburgers and they ate at the picnic table outside before making a small fire and roasting s'mores a little after sunset.

"Ugh, these mosquitos are eating me up!" Helga commented, smacking her arm as another mosquito landed on her wrist.

"Let's head inside." Arnold suggested, "We can find something to watch on Netflix or something."

"Lead the way football head." Helga commented, grabbing her boyfriend's hand and heading towards the door. Helga and Arnold were cuddled on the couch under a blanket in their pajamas watching _Batman vs. Superman_ when Gerald and Phoebe finally came inside.

"We made popcorn if you guys want to join." Arnold said pointing towards the nearly full bowl of popcorn.

"Um—no, we're really tired." Gerald said quickly as Phoebe held back a giggle as they disappeared into their bedroom.

"Do you hear that?" Arnold whispered to Helga after a few moments.

"You know—for how quiet Phoebe talks you'd never expect her to be so—uh—vocal in there." Helga responded, gesturing towards the bedroom door as faint moans filled the room. "This is a little awkward."

Helga turned her head and saw a blushing Arnold.

"Don't get any ideas Shortman." Helga chuckled, before nuzzling her head into the fold of his arm.

"What are you talking about?" Arnold remarked, lightly grazing his fingers along her thigh. "We _just_ starting dating—what do you take me for?"

"A _slight_ gentleman." Helga smirked.

"Slight? Hmm… I guess I'll have to work on that." Arnold responded, wrapping his arm around her and placing a gentle kiss on her forehead.

* * *

"Are you sure that you have everything that you need for this weekend?" Patty questioned. It was Friday evening and Harold was taking Chase for the weekend. Harold and Patty agreed that as long as Patty was breastfeeding, she would get Chase throughout the week and Harold would have him on the weekends. Patty wanted to be fair to Harold but she couldn't help feeling a twinge of sadness that she wouldn't see her two-month old son until Sunday evening.

"Yes dear." Harold responded, "Don't worry, Chase and I are going to have some quality father-son time."

"Just keep me posted. Send me lots of pictures and snapchats of my munchkin." Patty responded, giving Chase a kiss on the forehead before placing him in his baby carrier.

"Don't worry. Chase will be home before you know it." Harold responded, giving his soon-to-be ex-wife a brief hug before grabbing Chase's car seat and heading out of the door.

Patty cleaned her quant home, which took less time than she expected. She attempted to call Helga, forgetting that she was going camping for the weekend. She contemplated calling Lila but she was at work. _What the hell do single people do all the time?_ Patty thought to herself.

She grabbed her laptop and logged onto Facebook and saw her favorite sight, a small red notification indicating that she had a private message.

Jason Miller: I hope you and Chase had a great day today!

Patty Smith-Berman: Eh. How was your day?

Jason Miller: Why 'eh'?

Jason Miller: TGIF. That's the summary of my day.

Patty Smith-Berman: Chase is going to his father's for the weekend. I miss him already and he just left. Lol.

Jason Miller: So what are you going to do with your free time Ms. Smith?

Patty Smith-Berman: I have NO idea.

Jason Miller: I have an idea.

Jason Miller: Come with me and my friends for dinner and drinks.

Patty Smith-Berman: I don't know…

Jason Miller: Who can say no to Macho Taco?

Patty stared at her screen for a few minutes, weighing her options in her mind. Patty and Jason had been messaging each other back and forth daily for nearly two weeks now and she really liked his personality. It was very different than what she was used to with Harold and she was realizing that maybe that was a good thing.

Patty Smith-Berman: What time?

Jason Miller: Is that a yes!? Woo-hoo!

Jason Miller: We'll be there at eight o' clock.

* * *

Since moving out, Harold had only spent time with Chase when he visited Patty at their former house. He'd remembered how easy it was to take care of Chase in the first few days after he was born after work, while Patty was around. He knew that taking care of Chase for the entire weekend completely on his own was going to be a challenge, but it was a challenge that he had greatly underestimated.

It started when he arrived home. He'd set up a very nice dinosaur themed nursery at his new apartment with the help of Stinky, Lorenzo and his parents. While Chase slept for the duration of the drive from Patty's house to his house, he began to cry as soon as the door to his apartment shut behind them. He quickly realized that Chase's diaper needed to be tended to. He didn't realize that Chase may not be finished—and he was peed on almost instantaneously after opening his diaper for changing.

However, Chase decided that he was hungry. He accidentally spilled half of the first bottle of milk that he was preparing for Chase; something that he decided he wouldn't admit to Patty because she always complained about how much of a struggle pumping was. Then, once a full bottle was prepared—he realized that Patty never bottle fed Chase. After nearly an hour of a crying baby refusing to take a bottle, Chase finally began to suck the bottle down—and rather quickly. Harold thought that his night would be nearly over soon, until he forgot to burp Chase and he spit up all over himself and Harold's t-shirt.

Finally after a very hectic and dirty night, Chase was sound asleep in his crib. Harold turned on the baby monitor and headed to the living room. He turned on his PlayStation and searched for something to watch on Hulu but he was exhausted. He looked at the time and it was only 10:00. Harold couldn't think of a single person his age that would go to sleep at 10:00. He put the passcode into his cell phone and went on Facebook to see what his friends were up to. Arnold, Gerald, Phoebe and Helga were camping, making s'mores by the campfire. Lorenzo was heading to some movie premiere that his father had gotten him into. Stinky was enjoying a county fair that he was a judge at earlier in the day.

The most interesting item on his timeline was a picture his wife was tagged in with seven other people. Patty was next to a handsome, light skinned gentleman who had his arm wrapped around her shoulder as the group smiled into the camera. He clicked on the man's picture and found that his name was Jason Miller. He tried to find out a little about the man, but his account was private. He went back to Patty's page and looked at the photograph another time. He noted that Jason didn't have his arm wrapped around anyone except for Patty. He also noted how large Patty and Jason were smiling. He also noted that he had no idea who Jason was but for some reason, he hated him already.

* * *

Phoebe woke up and looked at the time, 7:00 am. She rolled over and looked at Gerald sleeping peacefully, threw on a set of pajamas and headed into the kitchen to get started on breakfast. She'd known Gerald and Helga for years and knew that they definitely weren't morning people, she assumed Arnold would be the same. She was wrong.

"Hey, do you need a hand with anything?" Arnold questioned, as he approached the small breakfast bar of the cabin.

"No, I think I've got a handle on it. Thank you." Phoebe responded.

Arnold grabbed a bottled water from the refrigerator before taking a seat on a stool. Phoebe grabbed a box of pancake mix and searched for a large bowl, frying pan and spatula.

"So—summer is almost over." Arnold remarked, in an attempt to make conversation.

"I know. This summer has been rather interesting to say the least." Phoebe responded politely as she poured the pancake mix, milk and eggs into a bowl and began to mix.

"Is it bad that I don't really want this summer to end?" Arnold commented, taking a gulp of his water.

"No." Phoebe answered, her eyes looking somewhat sad. "I don't really want this summer to end either—but Gerald starts football practice in two weeks, then before you know it—labor day will be here and we'll all be going our separate ways."

"Don't think of it that way." Arnold responded, he pensively thought about his next words carefully, "I was worried about coming back to Hillwood in June, now it's almost August and life is different than I expected it would be—but it's how it _should_ be. If that makes any sense."

"So, you think things are the way they should be?" Phoebe questioned, pouring pancake batter into the hot frying pan. "You don't think I'm making a huge mistake going to California?"

"Phoebe, you're not just going to California. You're going to Stanford, the Harvard of the West Coast. How could that be a mistake?" Arnold incredulously responded.

"But, Gerald-"

"Gerald is so proud of you Phoebe. He's hurt that you didn't tell him about Stanford but he is so proud of you. What's more is—he _loves_ you."

"I thought I smelled bacon." Helga emerged from the kitchen, her blonde hair tousled atop her head in a high ponytail.

"Helga, let me tell you, you've got yourself quite a catch in this one." Phoebe responded to her friend, shooting Arnold a quick smile.

"What am I over here, chopped liver?" Gerald chuckled as he entered the kitchen, wrapped his arms around his girlfriend and gave her a kiss on the cheek.

"Can we go for a Starbucks run?" Helga questioned, her eyes half closed as she sat with her hands propping up her head on the breakfast bar.

"Starbucks and camping don't exactly go together." Gerald quipped, causing Helga to roll her eyes.

"I think we brought some coffee. I'll make you a cup." Arnold stated, giving Helga a quick kiss before rummaging through the drawers.

Phoebe grabbed four plates out of the cabinets and began plating meals of pancakes, eggs, bacon and toast. She looked around at her group of friends as they sat at the table eating their breakfast. She didn't know what exactly the future had in store for her but she was thankful that she had such a supportive group of friends for the journey.

* * *

 **AN** : Happy Monday! Not a lot of action in this chapter but I like it, hopefully you will too! Happy reading, two more chapters to go! - BuzzLightyearr


	16. Stubborn Love

Chapter 16 | Stubborn Love

"Are you sure that I look alright Arnold?" Helga questioned, smoothing out the front of her soft blush pink dress. Her long, wavy blonde hair falling softly down her back.

"You look great." Arnold responded, placing his hand at the small of her back. "I don't know what you're so worried about. It's just dinner with my family."

"Exactly Arnold, its _dinner_ with your _family_." Helga exclaimed, "I just want everything to go smoothly."

"Have you forgotten what my family is like?" Arnold laughed, as they walked up the steps to the boarding house. "You'll be just fine."

Arnold opened the door to the boarding house and called out to his family. Arnold's grandmother, Gertie was the first to walk into the living room.

"Eleanor! So glad that you could accompany young Kimba to our feast tonight." Gertie stated, hugging Helga and giving her a kiss on both cheeks.

"Ahh, Arnold and his little friend Helga." Phil smiled in Helga's direction, causing Helga to blush slightly. "I guess, I should say _girl_ friend now, huh Shortman."

"Grandpa!" Arnold snapped.

"Welcome to our home." Arnold's mother, Stella warmly welcomed her. "It is so nice to finally have you for dinner."

"I can see why you didn't want to let this one get away." Miles chuckled, shooting Arnold a knowing glance.

"Well, dinner is almost ready if you two want to have a seat at the dinner table." Stella remarked, "Although, I must warn you—Mr. Kokoschka is already there."

"Isn't he always?" Arnold responded, before grabbing Helga's hand and leading her towards the dining room. Soon, the large dining room was filled and Stella presented the dinner that she made; a beautifully large dish of paella and a tossed salad.

"This is delicious!" Helga commented, taking a large bite of paella.

"Thank you, I got the recipe from a wonderful woman when I lived in the Philippines briefly after college. I'm surprised that I can still make the dish after all of these years." Stella commented, eliciting a small giggle from Helga.

"So what do you do Helga?" Ernie Potts asked from across the table.

"Um, well. Right now I'm an assistant at a publishing firm but I'll only be there until school starts." Helga responded.

"Where will you be attending school?" Miles questioned.

"University of Washington." Helga responded.

"Helga actually received a partial scholarship from the Young Arts Society for one of her creative writing pieces." Arnold remarked. Helga shot him a look and Arnold responded with a smirk.

"Congratulations that's really something to be proud of." Stella remarked.

"You should suggest a book for my book club." Mr. Kokoschka commented.

"Oh hush, you're not a part of any book club." Phil responded.

"Yes I am! We meet the first Tuesday of every month and discuss the books that we are reading." Mr. Kokoschka insisted.

"It's true. They're not the best group of characters though and I really wish they would go to one of their houses instead of coming here all of the time." Suzie interjected, supporting Oskar's claim.

"Well I'll be damned." Ernie remarked.

"That's great Mr. Kokoschka." Arnold commented.

"Arnold, _you_ really should think about what you are going to do once summer is over." Stella remarked in his direction.

"Well, actually, I applied to take a few classes at Hillwood Community College this fall." Arnold responded.

"Arnold, that's awesome!" Helga commented warmly, grabbing his hand and squeezing it slightly.

"Wonderful news son." Miles remarked.

"Okay, let's break out the champagne since we have so much good news today! He He." Mr. Kokoschka chuckled.

"Oskar! What is wrong with you?" Phil commented shaking his head before turning towards Arnold and Helga, "Ignore him, he lost his marbles back in the 90s and he's not playing with a full set."

Once dinner and dessert began to wind down and the boarders began to disperse, Arnold took Helga up to the roof of the boarding house. He'd prepared a small quilt and a few pillows near the middle of the roof so that they could lie down and stargaze together. The cool breeze of the night air gently caressed their faces as they looked up into the clear sky.

"It means a lot that you came to dinner tonight Helga." Arnold commented after a few moments of comfortable silence. .

"Yeah, it really wasn't bad at all. I've always thought your family was pretty cool."

"My mom really likes you."

"Hmmmm."

" _I_ really like you." Arnold leaned over and faced his girlfriend. She rolled to her side to face him too.

"I really like you too." Helga responded as Arnold grabbed her chin and pulled her in for a kiss that started soft and gentle but rapidly became more passionate. When their faces finally separated, Helga laid her head onto his chest and let out a small sigh. Life couldn't get any better.

* * *

Patty just stepped out of the shower when she heard a knock at the door. She quickly wrapped a towel around her wet hair and threw on a bathrobe before heading towards the door. She glanced through the peephole and saw Harold standing on her doorstep.

"What's going on?" Patty questioned. Harold walked into the living room and took a seat.

"Is someone here?" Harold asked.

"Who would be here?" Patty answered.

" _Right_." Harold said knowingly, raising his eyebrow at his wife.

"Are you okay?" Patty asked, "Shouldn't you be at work?"

"Well, I've hired more people than Mr. Green used to. I know that the place will run well with or without me." Harold answered.

"Is that really such a good idea?" Patty questioned, thinking about how much of both of their money was tied up into the business. "I mean, spending all of that additional money on labor cannot be good for the budget."

"Let me worry about that." Harold remarked.

"Okay." Patty responded with an uneasy tone to her voice. "What brings you here?"

"I thought we were friends." Harold answered.

"I mean—I guess that's one way to put it." Patty responded. Harold shuffled around the room pondering his next move.

"I was _wondering_ if you were willing to renegotiate our terms regarding Chase." Harold answered.

"No." Patty bluntly responded. "I'm glad that the two of you had a good weekend and you're welcome to come by here throughout the week to see him—but no, I'm not interested in changing our arrangement right now."

"Come _on_ Patty, think about all of the free time you could have." Harold responded, "You could spend more time with your friends, like that guy Jason."

Harold looked up at Patty so he could see her reaction when she mentioned his name. Her eyes got wide for a moment before they squinted slightly in anger, her face became slightly flushed.

"Is that what all of this is about?" Patty demanded.

"We just broke up _two_ months ago!" Harold blurted out. "Now, you're meeting new people and hanging out with some guy who had his _arm_ wrapped around you."

"Give me a break Harold. You were having sex with one of my best friends for _years_. Now you're upset because I went to dinner with a guy and his friends!?" Patty exclaimed, "You really have some nerve."

"I'm sorry." Harold admitted, realizing his hypocritical overreaction of the entire situation.

"You know, I really thought that we were doing a good job of communicating and putting our issues aside for Chase—but I guess not." Patty responded.

"We are." Harold pleaded.

"Harold, get the hell out of my house." Patty demanded, gesturing towards the door. "I cannot stand the sight of your face right now."

"I'm sorry." Harold said before the door slammed behind him. He whipped out his cell phone before stepping off of Patty's front porch and pulled up Jason Miller's Facebook profile. Harold let out a huge sigh, if Patty said that nothing was going on between her and Jason he'd have to believe it for now, _but_ it wouldn't stop him from researching in the meantime.

* * *

"So, I got a Facebook invitation that Arnold is throwing a barbecue for Labor Day." Thaddeus commented, as he sat on the small couch in the living area of his hotel suite. "How about you and I make an appearance, toots?"

"Thad, I'm a social pariah. No one wants to see me at that party, everyone hates me." Rhonda said, plopping down on the couch next to Thaddeus as she held an oversized bag of low-calorie popcorn. She shoved the bag towards Thaddeus offering him some, but he shook his head no.

"Hate is a rather strong word." Thaddeus remarked.

"You disagree?" Rhonda questioned, "You honestly don't think that half of Hillwood hates me?"

"Can I plead the fifth?" Thaddeus responded with a chuckle but Rhonda's facial expression suggested that she didn't find it funny. "Okay, I'm sorry. We've got a few weeks before Labor Day rolls around—I can either go by myself or we can do something that day instead."

"Fine." Rhonda responded sarcastically.

Rhonda smiled at her new friend. She'd found that she enjoyed spending time with him the past few weeks. She liked that he didn't take life too seriously. She relished in the fact that he didn't judge her for her past. She looked at him, his signature red frames were sitting on the end table and she noticed how beautiful his hazel-brown eyes were. She also couldn't help but notice how soft his lips looked. She shook the thoughts from her mind and popped another handful of popcorn into her mouth.

"You can't take back the things that you did in the past," Thaddeus remarked, placing a light hand on Rhonda's thigh. "but have you even _tried_ to make amends?"

"I told Patty that I was sorry and I would stop having sex with Harold," Rhonda admitted, "and I did tell Nadine that if she left I would be upset."

"You realize that's not really how normal people apologize." Thaddeus commented, his wide eyes forming into a confused squint.

"Where's your laptop?" Rhonda asked, jumping up from her seat on the couch and beginning to search for it.

"Hold your horses. It's right on the counter, I'll grab it for you." Thaddeus offered, Rhonda reclaimed her seat on the couch and Thaddeus placed the laptop on Rhonda's lap. "Don't do anything I wouldn't do."

After a few minutes of frantically typing a smile spread across Rhonda's face.

"Okay, I did it!" Rhonda explained, "Things should be fine soon."

"What did you do Rhonda?" Thaddeus responded with a skeptical voice.

"I sent some gifts to Patty and Nadine. Once they see them, they're going to be so happy that they'll forget all about being angry and hopefully they'll want to be friends again." Rhonda stated enthusiastically.

"Rhonda, that's not going to work."

"That's how Lloyds apologize."

"Good grief." Curly face palmed himself. "Rhonda, I don't doubt that they will appreciate your gifts but an apology requires an actual conversation and you're going to have to admit that you were wrong. A gift is a very nice gesture but you need to _talk_ to these ladies."

Rhonda's face fell slightly before she looked up and saw Thaddeus looking down at her. The sight caused a small smirk to wipe across her face.

"What?" Thaddeus asked.

"Nothing, I'm just really glad you're here." Rhonda responded causing a smile to transform Thaddeus' face as well.

* * *

"Helga, your sister is going to be here any moment now. Can you please help me set the table?" Miriam called from the bottom of the staircase. Helga rolled her eyes as she tossed aside her notebook and headed downstairs.

"Olga hasn't been home in over six months, can you please put on something more polished?" Miriam requested.

"Mom, do you want me to help you set the table or do you want me to change?" Helga asked, placing her hand on her hip, staring at her mother with clear exasperation.

"Helga, help your mom set the table. You look fine, Miriam stop harassing the poor girl." Bob said, as he waltzed into the dining room wearing a grey Big Bob's Beepers t-shirt and a pair of sweatpants. Miriam looked at her husband up and down and let out a defeated sigh as she decided that this battle of the outfits wasn't a battle worth fighting for.

Helga was placing the silverware on the table when she heard the doorbell ring. Bob opened the door and she could hear her sister's high-pitched voice fill the room.

"Mummy, Daddy!" Olga exclaimed, holding three wrapped packages in one hand and her other arm outstretched, ready to receive hugs of affection.

"So glad to see you!" Miriam exclaimed.

"Mummy, I have so much to tell you! But first, where is my baby sister?" Olga questioned, Helga walked out of the kitchen and saw her older sister. "Oh my goodness Helga, where is the time going!?" Olga exclaimed, running her hands through her younger sister's blonde hair and giving her a kiss on the forehead.

"I swear, everyone in this family thinks I'm twelve or something." Helga joked, as she gave her sister a hug.

"You came here on a bit of a short notice. I hope everything is going okay." Bob mentioned, raising his eyebrow at his daughter.

"I just missed my family and I brought you all goodies that you can open over dinner." Olga remarked, as she wandered towards the dining room, "Ooh, is that pot roast that I smell!?"

Bob and Olga took their seats at the dining room table, as Miriam and Helga brought the meal of Pot Roast, Mashed Potatoes with Gravy and Carrots out to the table before taking their seats.

"Okay, okay, I can't wait any longer. I have two very important things to tell you!" Olga said excitedly. Miriam's ears perked up, Helga diverted her attention to her sister and Bob continued to serve his meal.

"Daddy!" Olga chastised.

"What!? I can't make myself a plate while I listen to your news!?" Bob exclaimed. Miriam and Helga shot him a look as he placed down the serving spoon. "Alright, Alright! I'm all ears."

"I'm moving back to Washington!" Olga revealed, Miriam's face lit up with happiness and Helga stared at her sister with a blank look on her face. "I've missed my family so much that I can't bear to be that far apart any longer."

"When are you moving back Olga?" Helga questioned, she was confused. Helga and Olga weren't the best of friends, but their relationship had gotten a lot closer over the years. She figured that if something major was happening in her life she would at least have mentioned it during one of their conversations.

"Well baby sister, I bought a one way ticket— I'm staying at the Westwood Hotel for now until I find an apartment." Olga responded.

"Don't be ridiculous, your bedroom is still upstairs. I don't want you wasting your money on a hotel!" Bob exclaimed.

"Oh Daddy, that won't be necessary." Olga giggled, "I suppose that brings me to my next point." Olga remarked, as she grabbed the wrapped packages from under her seat. "Everyone open at the same time!"

Helga looked at the gift box, in typical Olga style, her box was carefully wrapped with pink wrapping paper and tied with white bows and ribbon. As she unwrapped the gift she noticed her sister was focused on her in particular. She carefully opened the top of the box and put aside the matching tissue paper to reveal a beautiful white and pink coffee tumbler that read AUNT HELGA. Helga gasped and looked at her sister who was looking at her with wide eyes that were quickly welling with tears.

"Olga, what the hell is this!?" Bob questioned, holding up a t-shirt that read ONLY THE BEST FATHERS GET PROMOTED TO GRANDFATHER. Miriam looked over at Bob and back at Olga.

"Sweetie, I think your father and I are just a little—confused." Miriam said. "I didn't even know you were seeing anyone!"

"What's there to be confused about? Olga is knocked up." Helga said bluntly, "Will you excuse me?" She remarked pushing her seat away from the table, grabbing her tumbler and heading upstairs. Helga knew that she had no right to be upset but despite her sister calling her to come back down, she kept marching upstairs.

Helga tossed the tumbler onto the bed and paced around her room in a small circle. Soon there was a knock on her door.

"Olga, I'm not in the mood to talk right now. Just leave me alone okay." Helga responded to the knock.

"It's not Olga. Can I come in?" Bob asked from the other side of the door. Helga sighed before opening the door to allow her father in. Bob looked around the room awkwardly before taking a seat on Helga's bed. He picked up the purple notebook sitting next to him.

"Don't read that. It's not finished." Helga said, before removing the notebook from her father's hand and tossing it to the side."What are you doing up here, did Miriam send you up to chastise me for being rude to _Olga_?"

"No. I came up here because I wanted to check on you." Bob admitted. "I'm not good at this whole parenting thing but I saw you were upset so I came up here."

"I'm _not_ upset." Helga remarked.

"You don't have to lie to your old man Helga." Bob remarked, "Remember what Dr. Bliss said, we need open lines of communication to survive in this family. I _know_ you're upset kid. Hell, I am too."

"I'm not upset." Helga reiterated, before taking a long pause. "I'm just frustrated that our family is finally doing well and Olga comes along and pulls something like this. I'll be in college next year while you're all here fawning over a pregnant Olga and then when she has the baby, oh boy, just kick me to the curb. Again."

Bob saw the tears beginning to well in his daughter's eyes, he knew that he wasn't the best parent but he'd been trying his hardest the past few years and he thought he'd made vast improvements. But if his daughter still felt this way after years of trying, then he still had a lot of work to do. He grabbed Helga and pulled her in for a hug.

"No one is _ever_ going to kick you to the curb or replace you." Bob said before releasing his daughter and looking into her eyes, he wiped a tear from her face. "Helga, you're my daughter and I love you."

"You mean that Bob—er—Dad?" Helga asked and Bob shook his head with a firm yes.

"How about this, we go downstairs and offer your sister some much needed support and then the two of us will go get some ice cream. What's that place you kids are always going to, Softies?" Bob offered.

"Slausen's?" Helga asked with a small chuckle.

"Yeah that's the one!" Bob responded, enthusiastically. "How about it kid? Some quality time, just the two of us."

"Sounds great." Helga responded, as Bob began to make his exit from the bedroom. She grabbed her new 'Aunt Helga' coffee tumbler from her bed. "Um, Dad—how do you feel about coffee instead?"

* * *

 **AN** : One more chapter! Happy reading!


	17. What's the World Got in Store

Chapter 17 | What's the World Got in Store

* * *

"How do you do it man?" Gerald asked, standing on the rooftop of the Sunset Arms boarding house, music blasting from the DJ booth and classmates that he'd known since preschool were dancing and mingling. Nadine and Vincent were alternating between sending snapchats and whispering sweet nothings in each other's ears. Harold, Mr. Green and Grandpa were taking turns manning the grill. Sheena, Lila and Eugene were dancing an elaborately coordinated, yet extremely silly dance in the middle of the party. He looked over at his best friend, who had been gone for nearly ten years and just got back at the beginning of summer yet somehow seamlessly and effortlessly reintegrated himself back into the Hillwood scene.

"What do you mean?" Arnold questioned.

"I mean, you leave for almost a decade and you come back and it's like you were never gone." Gerald responded, taking a sip of his drink, "Do you think that next summer will be like that—we'll be able to come back without missing a beat?"

"I hope so Gerald, I really hope so." Arnold responded, smiling as he spotted Helga and Phoebe walking towards the two young men.

"What were you two just talking about?" Helga questioned, running her fingers down her boyfriend's arm with a sly smile.

"We were just wondering what next year is going to bring for our little group." Gerald admitted, throwing his arm around Phoebe's shoulder and planting a kiss on her forehead, causing her to smile and blush slightly.

"Well, just because we're physically away from each other does not mean that we can't remain as close as we are." Phoebe smiled.

"Yeah, some things might change—but our friendship, that's solid." Arnold commented.

"Alright, enough of the mushy talk, it's depressing me. It's our last summer party before we have to think about school and all that jazz." Helga flippantly remarked, "Arnold, the music is blasting how about a dance?"

"Thought you'd never ask." Arnold grabbed her hand and led her out to the dance floor.

"Next year is going to fly by." Gerald said, smiling at his girlfriend.

"I hope so." Phoebe smiled back, "We've never been apart for more than a week."

"I know." Gerald stated simply.

"I can't wait to see your dorm room." Phoebe joked.

"Hmmm… can't imagine why." Gerald teased raising his eyebrows suggestively, "We'll be able to check that one off the bucket list."

* * *

Rhonda drove to Arnold's house with the intention of attending the party. She hadn't missed an exciting party in Hillwood since she was a child and she wasn't going to start now. However, as she neared Vine Street and when she arrived at her destination her car didn't come to a stop or even pause, she just kept driving.

"I thought you wanted to come with me to this party." Thaddeus commented, looking over at a clearly distraught Rhonda gripping the steering wheel tightly. "I mean, didn't you want to apologize to Nadine before she leaves for California?"

"Nope." Rhonda responded, "I just want to cuddle up at home, in bed, with a nice bottle of wine"

"Don't you mean a nice glass?" Thaddeus raised his eyebrow and questioned.

"I meant what I said." Rhonda answered bluntly.

"How about we watch Netflix at my place and share a bottle of wine? Is that a good compromise, sweetheart?" Thaddeus questioned.

"Switch it to my place and you've got a deal." Rhonda responded.

"Alright." Thaddeus smiled. "To the Lloyd Manor, step on it!"

* * *

Phoebe was usually a morning person but on the night before she was supposed to drive to Stanford University, she just couldn't relax. Things with Gerald had been going smoothly the past few weeks but she was afraid of what the time apart was going to do to their relationship.

Helga came by to see her early in the morning while Phoebe was still in her pajamas packing the last few items she wanted to take to California with her.

"Here you go Pheebs." Helga said, handing her best friend a small gift bag with an attached card, "Don't open it until you get to Stanford."

"Thanks Helga, you didn't have to get me anything." Phoebe responded.

"When your best friend is moving 13 hours away, yes I do." Helga smiled.

"I'm glad you mentioned that." Phoebe responded as she grabbed a small wrapped box and handed it to Helga. "Don't open it until you're settled into your dorm."

" _Phoebe_." Helga said, letting out a caring smile as she pulled her petite friend in for a hug.

"Promise me that we will facetime once a day. Minimum." Phoebe remarked.

"Promising." Helga said, with her best Phoebe impression. The two friends giggled a bit, but the laughter soon turned bittersweet as the girls tried to hold back their tears as Helga said goodbye but failed miserably.

Gerald came by a little after noon to see Phoebe off, he was thankful that his team wasn't practicing that day—but he was still held up thanks to his coach's mandatory meeting. Gerald rushed to Phoebe's house as soon as he could to maximize the amount of time he would spend with her on her last day. Phoebe and Gerald both felt as though the time was passing entirely too fast to be accurate but alas, it was 4:45pm and Gerald was walking her out to her car.

"I'm really going to miss you this semester." Gerald admitted, he could feel tears threatening to make their way down his face.

"I'm going to miss you too," Phoebe responded, her cheeks already wet with tears, "but, I'm going to be here to visit as often as I can."

"Only 68 days until Thanksgiving break." Gerald said attempting to sound enthusiastic but choking through the words.

"Yeah." Phoebe said softly.

"I don't want to rush you, but it's time to hit the road darling! We're driving until midnight tonight and the rest of the way in the morning." Reba Heyerdahl called out to her daughter, before climbing into her own car with her husband.

Phoebe's face wrinkled up as she realized that she was really leaving Hillwood and moving to California for the majority of the next four years. She tried to seem confident but the tears flowed down her cheeks like waterfalls. Gerald pulled her into his chest and tried to hold back his own tears.

"Baby, it's okay." Gerald responded, "We've got this. I love you."

Gerald gave his girlfriend a loving, passionate kiss before she slipped into her car. She gave a final goodbye wave as she pulled away with her parents' car trailing behind. Gerald watched sadly as the cars pulled away. He watched until he couldn't see them in the distance anymore.

* * *

Gerald woke up on the morning of his move-in day, aching and sore. The University of Washington coach had been running two-a-day practices for past three days and he was exhausted. However, he still could not contain his excitement that he was finally about to live a true college lifestyle.

Gerald loved his family but he found them overbearing at times. Even as they prepared to pack up the car and drop him off at UW, his father was drilling him on things that he absolutely could not forget. His sister, Timberly was on the phone talking about whatever in the world thirteen year old girls talk about. And for some reason, his brother Jamie O, couldn't stay away from this family event.

He was excited to go to bed whenever he wanted to, eat whatever he wanted to and to leave the lights on for however long he damn well pleased. Still, despite his excitement he had to admit he was going to miss his family tremendously, despite all of their little quirks.

"Well, we're here son—are you sure you don't want us to come up and check out your new digs." Mr. Johannsen asked with a tinge of sadness at how independent his younger son had become.

"Yeah, come on Gerald—we want to see your dorm room." Timberly insisted.

"Alright, I guess you guys could help me carry up these boxes if you want." Gerald said cooly.

"Well, I'm carrying the lightest bag. I don't want to chip my nail polish." Timberly demanded, as she picked up Gerald's backpack.

"I _guess_ I could carry these boxes." Jamie O said to no one in particular.

The Johannsen family made their way to Maple Hall towards Gerald's new home away from home. There were many families crowding the hallways, saying goodbye to their teenaged children for the first time. When they arrived to his dorm room, the place was bare, screaming for Gerald to put his own personality into the room. He wondered when his roommate was arriving but was thankful that for the time being he was just alone with his family. Gerald set up his side of the dorm room with the help of his family.

"Teamwork makes the dream work." Mrs. Johannsen smiled as she looked around at what their family had accomplished in one short hour.

"Well, I guess this means we'll be heading out son." Mr. Johannsen responded as he nervously readjusted his glasses.

"Good luck Gerald. We're going to watch every single game of yours—even if you're not playing, which you probably won't be." Timberly teased before she leaned in and gave her brother a hug.

"Gerald my man, keep in touch, I can show you where all the college hang out spots are." Jamie O wiggled his eyebrows, before giving his brother a brief hug and a pat on the back.

"Gerald, you're on your own now—but you're not alone. Let us know if you need anything and don't get involved with all the crazy, college, knuckleheads you hear me?" Mr. Johannsen explained.

"Don't forget to call home often. We're only two hours away so anything that you need, no matter how big or small-" Mrs. Johannsen began to state before she was interrupted by a hug from her youngest boy.

"I love you mom, thanks for everything." Gerald responded, attempting to stay tough but his emotions were written all over his face.

Yes, Gerald was excited to be on his own—but the feeling was definitely bittersweet.

* * *

"I'm going to miss you this semester." Arnold stated as he and his girlfriend walked along the pier.

"Don't worry football head, I'm going to be here so often that it'll be like I never left." Helga responded taking a bite from her corn dog. She was doing a good job of appearing cool and calm, despite the fact that her nerves were going absolutely haywire.

"I know," Arnold responded, "but it's not going to be the same. I've gotten used to seeing you almost every day. I'm spoiled now."

Helga flashed a soft smile at her boyfriend.

"I'm going to miss you too." Helga admitted, bringing a smile to his face.

"So, Helga G. Pataki is going to be an auntie." Arnold smirked.

"I know, she's due in February. I don't know how to act around kids. I didn't even like kids when I was a kid." Helga quipped.

"You're going to be a wonderful Aunt." Arnold reassured her.

"Thanks." Helga said simply. "So, are you ready to be a college boy?"

"I'm just taking a few classes this semester at the community college—it's really not a big deal. It's not like you, Gerald or Phoebe." Arnold responded.

"Don't sell yourself short Arnold. I'm really happy that you decided to take this step." Helga encouraged.

"So what time are you leaving tomorrow?" Arnold questioned, turning the topic back onto his girlfriend.

"Leaving at 10:00. It's only a two hour drive so don't go getting all emotional on me." Helga said nudging her boyfriend. Arnold reached down and grabbed her hand, extremely sorry that eventually he'd have to let go.

* * *

Olga arrived at the Pataki household bright and early at eight o'clock in the morning. Helga woke up to a fantastic breakfast of homemade pancakes, biscuits and gravy, bacon, scrambled eggs and hash browns.

"Olga, you really didn't have to do all of this. Shouldn't you be resting or something?" Helga said, giving her sister a hug before sitting down at the dining room table to enjoy her breakfast. Olga took a seat across from her.

"Oh baby sister, it's a huge day for you. You're out on your own for the first time. This breakfast was the least I could do." Olga smiled. "Speaking of which, I hope you don't mind, I got you something."

" _Olga_." Helga chastised as she opened the small present. A picture frame that said SISTERS, with a childhood photo of them on the left and a photo they took at Helga's graduation party on the right. "Did you have to include the one of us as children? I look like such a brat." Helga laughed.

"Well, it just goes to show how far our relationship has come." Olga smiled at her younger sister and Helga felt a smile creep up on her face as well.

"Glad to see you girls are getting an early start. Helga, do you have everything all packed up?" Bob asked, as he entered the dining room with two large plates filled to the brim with breakfast food.

"Yes, Dad." Helga responded.

"Helga, today is a very important day in your life. How excited are you?" Miriam asked as she placed a small kiss on her youngest daughter's forehead before taking a sip of her black coffee.

"I'm thrilled Miriam." Helga said forcing a smile.

After breakfast, Bob helped Helga load her belongings into the family car, Helga said goodbye to her sister. Olga, of course, sobbed uncontrollably as she watched her sister, mother and father place the last bag into the car and head off.

Two hours later, they were on the lush green campus of University of Washington. Tons of purple banners were posted along the light posts along the walkways informing them of many freshman events. Helga grabbed the key to her dorm from the housing office and headed towards Maple Hall, her mother and father trailing closely behind her. She found the floor of her dorm room and inserted the key into the lock when she heard a familiar voice.

"Only _I_ would move two hours away from Hillwood and have Helga G. Pataki as my neighbor." Gerald chuckled, Helga flashed him a quick smile before letting herself into her dorm room. This was going to be an interesting year indeed.

* * *

 **AN** : And on that note the story is over guys! Thank you so much for all of your support. This was my first fan fiction ever so it's always going to hold a special place in my heart and I'm so happy that so many of you enjoyed it.


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